Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen

This 31-page paper, published in the journal Political Perspectives, looks at two HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in Uganda focusing on changing men's attitudes and behaviour. According to the author, the programmes are based on the assumption that all Ugandan men are in a dominant position within their households, and that the strategies used become a question of teaching Ugandan men how to practice their male authority "properly." The paper argues that these particular practices of HIV/AIDS prevention contribute to reproducing stereotypical ideas about African men as the ones in control and that reproducing such gendered stereotypes may help to naturalise unequal gender relations in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the author, both programmes, Operation Gideon and the "Be a Man" campaign, tend to reinforce the same "truth" about Ugandan men, namely that they are the ones in control of their families or society. However, the author states that because the programmes use different methods and techniques, their effects are very different.

The "Be a Man" campaign, primarily run by Young, Empowered and Healthy (YEAH) in Kampala, combines health awareness techniques with specific gender perspectives to enable Ugandan men to reflect on how certain dominant notions of masculinity in Uganda make them behave in ways which are unhealthy to themselves and others. It aims to change male gender norms rather than changing men. The project includes a media campaign and peer educator training. The media campaign seeks to promote this "right" way of being a man by making it trendy to be a "gender-equitable man".

Operation Gideon, initiated by Reach Out Mbuya Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative, primarily relies on strengthening Christian techniques of self-government to enable men in Mbuya to resist the dangers of the Ugandan culture's negative influences. Operation Gideon organises discussion groups that meet every two weeks in different drinking places in Mbyua. In these groups, facilitators engage in various discussions with male (and female) participants. The key concern in Operation Gideon is not so much to redefine the cultural and social expectations of men, as it is to change how men in Mbuya relate to these expectations. Facilitators attempt to enable men to resist "negative" cultural influences through messages combining AIDS prevention and Christian morality. According to the author, the underlying message on how men should behave comes across more directly and perhaps uncompromisingly.

The author argues that within their various strategies and methods, neither programme actually attempts to change the balance of power between men and women - men's role as decision-maker and head of the household is not questioned - rather the programme simply encourages men to use the power they have differently.

The author concludes that the commonalities in the international discourses on AIDS and what might be recognised as a "promising strategy" or "best practice" should not lead one to assume universal outcomes. There is a need to further study the consequences and effects of HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa that are specifically geared toward men, paying attention to how these overall ideas are translated on the ground into specific practices. Investigating the different kinds of "truths" about proper male and female conduct that are produced, as well as the sort of self-government that is promoted in specific programmes designed for men, can shed light on which representations of "African culture" and gender relations these HIV/AIDS interventions produce and reproduce.

Political Perspectives website on December 12 2008.