The Wisdom of Whores

I have been reading The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS by Elizabeth Pisani (and by reading, I mean sitting in the sun devouring page after page in between hand-washing loads of laundry).  It’s a book that I absolutely recommend to anyone, whether you are well-versed on the HIV epidemic or don’t even know what the letters H-I-V stand for (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, by the way).

Although I have yet to finish the book, I have learned a great deal.  Mainly that the HIV epidemic is far from universal.  The virus affects different demographics in different areas of the world in different ways.  The “cookbook” manuals (as Ms. Pisani calls them) put out by the UN on how to address the epidemic and effect behavior change turn out to be… not so helpful.  Every region, country, and even city has its own sex and drug culture, which dramatically changes which population should be targeted and how said targeting should be attempted.  There is no one-way to behavior change.

Another important lesson: don’t blindly trust anything.  Not bare statistics, not UN-sanctioned reports, not the country’s political or religious leaders.  Numbers can be deceiving, or misinterpreted, or “beat up” to shock key people and organizations (another of Ms. Pisani’s terms). In order to get a true picture of how a disease is being spread, you have to go to the people.  It takes time, patience, and flexibility, but this book proves that policy-makers contained in comfy cubicles (or even the corner office with a great view) have no idea what’s happening on the ground.  Thus it’s impossible for them to make effective policies (unless, of course, they consult those who are on the ground and then actually follow their advice… but how often does that happen?)

After reading this book, I don’t feel so bad for the lack of hard data on my blog.  Although followers may be craving a more concrete outline of the HIV epidemic here in Botswana, the statistics only give a bare skeleton of what the situation truly is.  (And as long as we’re being honest, there’s hardly any reliable data in my region to begin with.  The most recent population records are from 2001.)  Instead, I’ll do my best to relay the down and dirty about what’s really going on, and we can discover the truth together.

Now really, go check your local library or Barnes & Noble – it’s a great book!

There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be. –Charles Pierce