UNDERSTANDING AIDS PANDEMIC BEYOND THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION: AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Currently, the fight against the AIDS pandemic in Africa depends unilaterally on scientific knowledge that is based on methods of observation and experimentation. This one-sided approach prevents people from knowing and understanding the pandemic holistically. Consequently, medical doctors fail to play their preventive and curative roles against the pandemic. Preventive and curative scientific efforts have been made to address the problem but all in vain. If the approach to the pandemic remains only scientific, the world in general and Africa in particular will continue to suffer from the pandemic. I argue that the spiritual cause of AIDS as understood by Africans beyond the scientific explanation is also important for knowing and understanding the pandemic holistically.