Paper long abstract:

This paper looks at how community-based initiatives can influence care and prevention in a Tanzanian roadside town. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, the study uncovers the individual, social, economic and political interests that play in the local politics with regard to prevention and care. Solidarity and professionalism often clash with more mundane interests. Nevertheless, small groups of people fight against the tide in order to help each other and their community towards a less precarious future.