Development, Disease and Desire: AIDS and Womens Understandings of Maternity and Health Among the Gogodala of PNG

This project explores articulations and experiences of health and illness among women in rural PNG, in light of the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities. It examines the incorporation of new diseases, like HIV/AIDS, into Gogodala women's conceptualisations of sickness and health, arguing that in-depth analyses of cross-cultural notions of disease are vital for the provision of effective health care. Given HIV's rapid spread into rural communities, and its devastating effects on women and children in PNG, the project seeks to provide ethnographically-informed material that contributes to the development of regional health care policies and programs.