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Article: HIV/AIDS in Nepal: the making of a cultural model.
- Article from:
- Contributions to Nepalese Studies
- Article date:
- July 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Research Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
HIV/AIDS has become a prominent problem in the tiny South Asian country of Nepal. Experts have stated that the number of AIDS cases has increased fifteen-fold over a three-year period (1990-93) and the numbers were expected to reach 100,000 cases by the year 2000 (Suvedi, Baker and Thapa 1994). Although the numeric impact of HIV/AIDS has not been as dramatic as anticipated, (1) it is expected that AIDS will grow at an alarming rate over the next few years. One author proclaims AIDS as a "coming crisis" for Nepal (Seddon 1995).
The way people make sense of illness is, in part, culturally determined. Existing beliefs and presuppositions shared ...