Paper short abstract:

Having been a practitioner working in the development field for more than 15 years I had become increasingly critical with the development field in which I was embroiled. Consequently I decided to step out of the development arena and conduct further research in order to critically challenge how knowledge about development is often inaccurately formed and then shapes unhelpful practice. I reached a point at which I felt ethically compromised continuing as a practitioner within a field I knew to be flawed. I am now conducting research reviewing and revisiting my experiences as a development practitioner in Malawi.

Paper long abstract:

My study is grounded in research into knowledge construction in epistemic communities. The specific focus is on the relationship between HIV and AIDS, cultural practices and human rights and the consequences for knowledge, policy and practice. The research setting is Malawi. Policies and prevention programmes on HIV and AIDS are being developed to modify or eradicate certain traditional cultural practices because they purportedly contribute to the spread of HIV. This paper argues that specific cultural practices do not contribute significantly to the spread of HIV and AIDS in Malawi. Instead a particular epistemic discourse has been shaped by INGOs, politicians and donors in order to explain the Aids crisis in Malawi. This discourse draws on the label 'harmful cultural practices' and the language of human rights, combined they distort the day to day realities of HIV transmission and treatment in Malawi.

Key questions this paper will explore include; How are epistemic communities reframing the AIDS epidemic to further their goals and self-interests? How are the debates within the epistemic community facilitated or constrained by international donors (bi and multilateral agencies)? To what extent is HIV and AIDS being represented as an exceptional circumstance, justifying policies that would not normally be applied to different public health crises? How are international frameworks, agendas and paradigms influencing and impacting on traditional cultural practices and human rights? What are the implications for HIV and AIDS policies and programmes?