Indigenous knowledge of HIV/AIDS among High School students in Namibia

Focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data on indigenous names and symptoms of HIV/AIDS from students in 18 secondary schools located in six education regions. Data were grouped into themes.People living with HIV/AIDS were called names meaning prostitute: ihule, butuku bwa sihule, and shikumbu. Names such askibutu bwa masapo (bone disease),katjumba (a young child),kakithi (disease), andshinangele (very thin person) were used to describe AIDS. Derogatory names like mbwa (dog), esingahogo (pretender), ekifi (disease), and shinyakwi noyana (useless person) were also used. Other terms connoted death (zeguru, heaven; omudimba, corpse), fear (simbandembande, fish eagle; katanga kamufifi, (hot ball), and subtle meaning using slang words such as 4 × 4, oondanda ne (four letters), desert soul, and mapilelo (an AIDS service organization). Typical (body wasting) and non-typical (big head, red eyes) symptoms of HIV were also revealed.The study determined students' IK of the names and symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Programmes to prevent/manage adolescent HIV infection and stigma may be strengthened if they take students' indigenous understandings of the disease on board.Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is an important foundation for sustainable and innovative solutions in education, health, agriculture, and biotechnology. At a regional symposium in South Africa, Nkondo cautioned that the quest to understand and use Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) should not be likened to "primitive anthropology" [1]. According to Nkondo, IK has a clear link between thinking and action, theory and practice, and mind and body [1]. Nkondo [1] and Teffo [2] argued that African IK adequately fits into the two epistemological denominations of rationalism and empiricism. They maintained that African IKS were not static. On the contrary, African IKS were situation-dependent, continuously-evolving, and actively adapting to the ever changing world [1,2]. Be that as it may, African research and educa