NGOs Confront HIV/AIDS in Tanzania: Local Entrepreneurship Initiatives as Instantiations and Adaptations of Neoliberalism’s Global Discourse

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have endured as an important response to HIV/AIDS. As nations of eastern and southern Africa currently have the highest adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rates, this study focused on NGOs headquartered in Tanzania. Although communication research on HIV/AIDS NGOs has spanned a variety of cultural contexts, theoretical traditions, and samples, research in nations of Africa has yet to situate these NGOs in a relevant global context. This study integrated discourse analysis and constant comparisons to examine how the discourses of 36 NGO leaders on their local HIV/AIDS initiatives are taking up neoliberalism, a global ideological discourse that valorizes free markets, individualism, and profits. Based on linkages forged between HIV/AIDS and poverty at multiple scales (the nation, rural areas, target groups, families), participants positioned entrepreneurship as a solution for poor clients, namely, a 4-step process of assisting clients with entrepreneurship, several entrepreneurship industries, and positive consequences for clients. The article concludes with a discussion and implications.