The Epidemiology of Migration and AIDS in South Africa

Southern Africa has both a rapidly growing HIV epidemic and high levels of population mobility. The common assumption about the role of migration in the spread of HIV is that migrant men become infected while away and return home to infect their rural partners. However, I argue that at least at this late stage of South Africa’s epidemic, the role of migration is more complex, and there is evidence for the bi-directionality of HIV transmission within couples.