Sex, Drugs, and HIV/AIDS in Brazil

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Brazil ranked second only to the United States in the number of reported cases of AIDS. Because Brazil's extensive poverty and inequality, its fragile economic situation, and its limited network of health services, the scarce prevention/intervention resources targeted only the most visible at risk populations -- gay men, sailors, prostitutes, and street children. Virtually forgotten were Brazil's hidden drug users, as well as the tens of millions of individuals living in the country's thousands of favelas, or shantytowns, which are a characteristic part of almost every Brazilian city. In Sex, Drugs, and HIV/AIDS in Brazil the authors examine the emergence of AIDS in Brazil, its linkages to drug use and the sexual culture, and its epidemiology in such populations as cocaine users, "street children," and male transvestite prostitutes. Special attention is focused on an HIV/AIDS community outreach program established in Rio de Janeiro, which represented the first such prevention/intervention program in all of Brazil targeting indigent cocaine users. This 6-year initiative was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and carried out by the authors of this book. The research combines anthropological, sociological, and biological perspectives; all data were gathered through empirical and ethnographic techniques.

James InciardiPh.D. is the Director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware; a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Delaware; an Adjunce Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami School of Medicine; and a Guest Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and was the Principal Investigator of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project. Hilary SurrattM.A. is an Associate Scientist in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware, and was the Co-Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project.Paulo Telles M.D., Ph.D. is a Senior Researcher in the Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Atenção ao Uso de Drogas at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, and was the Scientific Director of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project. James InciardiPh.D. is the Director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware; a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Delaware; an Adjunce Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami School of Medicine; and a Guest Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and was the Principal Investigator of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project. Hilary SurrattM.A. is an Associate Scientist in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware, and was the Co-Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project.Paulo Telles M.D., Ph.D. is a Senior Researcher in the Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Atenção ao Uso de Drogas at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, and was the Scientific Director of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project. James InciardiPh.D. is the Director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware; a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Delaware; an Adjunce Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami School of Medicine; and a Guest Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and was the Principal Investigator of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project. Hilary SurrattM.A. is an Associate Scientist in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware, and was the Co-Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project.Paulo Telles M.D., Ph.D. is a Senior Researcher in the Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Atenção ao Uso de Drogas at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, and was the Scientific Director of the Brazil-based HIV/AIDS prevention/intervention project.