Cultures all over the world have evolved illness representations that can accommodate not only new diseases, but also new epistemologies for explaining disease. This paper examines illness representations in Sub-Saharan Africa, and how these have responded to the emergence of AIDS.
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a crisis in human health resources due to a critical shortage of health workers. The shortage is compounded by a high burden of infectious diseases; emigration of trained professionals; difficult working conditions and low motivation.