The Contributions of Sport to HIV/AIDS Awareness

Abstract

Purpose

To highlight and explain some characteristics of sport which can contribute to HIV/AIDS awareness as a part of comprehensive HIV/AIDS countermeasures. HIV/AIDS is among the most crucial of global issues, and sport is widely viewed as a possible vehicle to counter it. By using data from a Zimbabwe study, the chapter draws on several unique characteristics of sport which can help in combating challenging social problems.

Findings

Several characteristics of “awareness activities” in Zimbabwean baseball were observed. Some points are characteristics of sport itself, some are related specifically to baseball, and the others are, we can say, peculiar to the activities of the Zimbabwe Baseball Association (ZBA) and the Maxwell and Friends Foundation (MFF). As an awareness catalyst, sport has some unique characteristics, although we cannot say that promoting HIV/AIDS awareness through sport can always be effective for all fields. However, the worldwide increase in such activities shows certain advantages of using sport as an awareness tool.

Originality/value

This chapter shows some unique characteristics of sport in the field of HIV/AIDS awareness. It will contribute to the re-examination of sport from the perspective of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP).

Citation

Okada, C. (2014), "The Contributions of Sport to HIV/AIDS Awareness", Sport, Social Development and Peace (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 87-102. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420140000008004