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Our Kind of People: A Continent's Challenge, A Country's Hope – A Heartbreaking and Honest Journey into Nigeria's AIDS Crisis
In 2005, Uzodinma Iweala stunned readers and critics alike with Beasts of No Nation , his debut novel about child soldiers in West Africa. Now his return to his native continent has produced Our Kind of People , a nonfiction account of the AIDS crisis that is every bit as startling and original. Iweala embarks on a remarkable journey in his native Nigeria, meeting individuals and communities that are struggling daily to understand both the impact and meaning of the disease. He speaks with people from all walks of life—the ill and the healthy, doctors, nurses, truck drivers, sex workers, shopkeepers, students, parents, and children. Their testimonies are by turns uplifting, alarming, humorous, and surprising, and always unflinchingly candid. Beautifully written and heartbreakingly honest, Our Kind of People goes behind the headlines of an unprecedented epidemic to show the real lives it affects, illuminating the scope of the crisis and a continent’s valiant struggle.
240 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
628 people want to read
About the author
Uzodinma Iweala
17 books426 followersUzodinma Iweala is a writer and medical doctor. His first book, Beasts of No Nation: A Novel (HarperCollins, 2005), tells the story of a child soldier in West Africa. His second book, Our Kind of People: Thoughts on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, will be released in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States in the summer of 2012. He has also published numerous short stories and essays and has worked in international development on matters of health policy.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 27 reviews
August 25, 2025
Educational and quite deep and eye opening
January 30, 2013
The challenge with writing a medical ethnography is providing the right balance of statistical information and anecdotes/interviews that help put a face on the subject disease. Nigerian physician Uzodinma Iweala does just that with this book.
"Our Kind of People" examines the sub-Saharan Africa HIV/AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Iweala's countrymen. Not only does he interview physicians and other caregivers; he also interviews activists (some of whom are patients themselves), patients and family members. It is their stories, along with the statistics (for example, of the 33.4 million cases of HIV/AIDS worldwide, 28.2 million of them are in sub-Saharan Africa), that put the face on the disease.
Iweala examines cultural attitudes that lead to the spread of the disease (much like in the USA until Rock Hudson's death, HIV/AIDS in Nigeria was ignored or thought of as something that "our kind of people" don't get until the death of popular Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti), as well as the challenges to treatment (expensive drugs, in a country where most people earn less than $2 US per day) and more. He also examines the gap between caring for those already infected and trying to prevent the further spread.
As much as you would think that this might be a depressing book, it is actually an uplifting and intelligent look at people who are living with HIV/AIDS. It belongs on the shelf next to Randy Shilts' "And The Band Played On" as one of the most important medical ethnographies of our time.
"Our Kind of People" examines the sub-Saharan Africa HIV/AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Iweala's countrymen. Not only does he interview physicians and other caregivers; he also interviews activists (some of whom are patients themselves), patients and family members. It is their stories, along with the statistics (for example, of the 33.4 million cases of HIV/AIDS worldwide, 28.2 million of them are in sub-Saharan Africa), that put the face on the disease.
Iweala examines cultural attitudes that lead to the spread of the disease (much like in the USA until Rock Hudson's death, HIV/AIDS in Nigeria was ignored or thought of as something that "our kind of people" don't get until the death of popular Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti), as well as the challenges to treatment (expensive drugs, in a country where most people earn less than $2 US per day) and more. He also examines the gap between caring for those already infected and trying to prevent the further spread.
As much as you would think that this might be a depressing book, it is actually an uplifting and intelligent look at people who are living with HIV/AIDS. It belongs on the shelf next to Randy Shilts' "And The Band Played On" as one of the most important medical ethnographies of our time.
August 21, 2012
Our Kind of People left me in a hard place when it came to this review. On the one hand, what it has to say about the ignorance of people who assume/believe that an HIV diagnosis is an automatic death sentence is important to hear. Many in Africa still hide from their family, friends and neighbors until they die because of the shame and the stigma. However, there are those who are proclaiming their positive status, hoping that others will begin to understand that knowledge is power, and that the sense of community so important to the African people is even more so for those diagnosed with the disease. In the stories of those with first-hand knowledge, this book is invaluable and eye-opening.
On the other hand, the book seems unevenly written and much feels repeated throughout. The dialogue, while interesting and honest, also occasionally feels like there is too much - it seems to detract at times rather than help. The book, already fairly small and with large type, could have done with more editing - either a smaller book or other topics introduced to keep the size.
Having said all that, I do believe that this is an important conversation to be having. He is spot on when he discusses the fact that while AIDS in places like the US has been fairly stable for years, Africa is just now getting a handle on it. He is also correct in shining a light on the fact that the treatments are so expensive, and yet there is little in place to help those poorest and neediest get the medicine they need. And he makes a valuable point that is valid of ALL patients everywhere - AIDS is a disease, not an identity. It's a valuable and worthy book, but with some writing flaws that tend to take away from the important message the book conveys.
On the other hand, the book seems unevenly written and much feels repeated throughout. The dialogue, while interesting and honest, also occasionally feels like there is too much - it seems to detract at times rather than help. The book, already fairly small and with large type, could have done with more editing - either a smaller book or other topics introduced to keep the size.
Having said all that, I do believe that this is an important conversation to be having. He is spot on when he discusses the fact that while AIDS in places like the US has been fairly stable for years, Africa is just now getting a handle on it. He is also correct in shining a light on the fact that the treatments are so expensive, and yet there is little in place to help those poorest and neediest get the medicine they need. And he makes a valuable point that is valid of ALL patients everywhere - AIDS is a disease, not an identity. It's a valuable and worthy book, but with some writing flaws that tend to take away from the important message the book conveys.
December 16, 2012
Our Kind of People: A Continent's Challenge, A Country's Hope by Uzodinma Iweala is a brief, yet hard hitting look at how the AIDS crisis in Africa has specifically affected Nigeria.
The reader is introduced to persons who have the disease, have been widowed by the disease, and the brave souls who are seeking to counter the information gap between the reality of AIDS and misconceptions of the disease that spread throughout not just Nigeria, but the rest of the world, as well.
Some books on the AIDS crisis have the tendency to fall into hopelessness, despair, and at worst pity. Iweala avoids all the trappings by showing people who are not just surviving, but thriving with a disease that is often considered a death sentence.
The people profiled in the book are battling not just the disease itself, but the stigma attached to it. Some have been exiled from their communities and families while others have chosen to lead the fight against the disease. It is at once a painful story about what the disease can do and a hopeful story about what people can do with the disease. Deeply moved.
The reader is introduced to persons who have the disease, have been widowed by the disease, and the brave souls who are seeking to counter the information gap between the reality of AIDS and misconceptions of the disease that spread throughout not just Nigeria, but the rest of the world, as well.
Some books on the AIDS crisis have the tendency to fall into hopelessness, despair, and at worst pity. Iweala avoids all the trappings by showing people who are not just surviving, but thriving with a disease that is often considered a death sentence.
The people profiled in the book are battling not just the disease itself, but the stigma attached to it. Some have been exiled from their communities and families while others have chosen to lead the fight against the disease. It is at once a painful story about what the disease can do and a hopeful story about what people can do with the disease. Deeply moved.
September 24, 2012
The book covers the very subtle, yet very important aspect of humanity within the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Uzodinma Iweala accomplished what he set out to do - he has broadened my thinking about AIDS in Africia.
September 20, 2018
"AIDS is not my identity"--what a powerful reminder to stop defining an entire continent by an epidemic but rather to think of the people who live there. Uzodinma Iweala humanizes a continent that is often generalized as suffering from an epidemic. While the continent of Africa does have the highest rate of AIDS/HIV, it is not the single story of the entire continent. A story that is often omitted is that of the people left behind--who have to live with loss. Omitting the voices of the grieving minimizes the human experience--thus robbing the identity of a a diverse continent.
AIDS/HIV becomes a human rights issue because of the huge gap in t anti-retroviral treatments offered in MDCs and LDCS. For example, Magic Johnson has been HIV+ for decades, and because he has money to pay for the costly treatment, he is still living quite well. Conversely, someone with the same diagnosis living in sub-Sahara would most likely have died years ago. The root of the problem is that extreme poverty limits the amount of treatment. HIV is not a death sentence in western nations, why should it be anywhere else?
It is easy to become patronizing of sub-Saharan Africa's AIDS/HIV epidemic when we see the issue through "American goggles." What we lack in understanding is that not many people receive treatment due to lack of medicine and the social stigma associated with the virus. However, as Iweala discovers through his research, activists are diligently working to help society overcome this fear. People living with AIDS are people, just as the continent of Africa is composed of diverse humans and experiences who are not defined by an epidemic. Iweala beautifully reminds his readers that "We are all fundamentally the same. We are all humans."--which should be our mantra as we encounter others on a daily basis. I commend Iewala for tackling such an important issue and bringing to light the vast amount of human rights violations that will continue to persist if this gap in treatment continues to be the norm.
AIDS/HIV becomes a human rights issue because of the huge gap in t anti-retroviral treatments offered in MDCs and LDCS. For example, Magic Johnson has been HIV+ for decades, and because he has money to pay for the costly treatment, he is still living quite well. Conversely, someone with the same diagnosis living in sub-Sahara would most likely have died years ago. The root of the problem is that extreme poverty limits the amount of treatment. HIV is not a death sentence in western nations, why should it be anywhere else?
It is easy to become patronizing of sub-Saharan Africa's AIDS/HIV epidemic when we see the issue through "American goggles." What we lack in understanding is that not many people receive treatment due to lack of medicine and the social stigma associated with the virus. However, as Iweala discovers through his research, activists are diligently working to help society overcome this fear. People living with AIDS are people, just as the continent of Africa is composed of diverse humans and experiences who are not defined by an epidemic. Iweala beautifully reminds his readers that "We are all fundamentally the same. We are all humans."--which should be our mantra as we encounter others on a daily basis. I commend Iewala for tackling such an important issue and bringing to light the vast amount of human rights violations that will continue to persist if this gap in treatment continues to be the norm.
July 11, 2019
Nigerian ex-pat gives us a cultural tour of factors surrounding AIDS in Nigeria: the history, politics, patients, absurdities, economic and cultural barriers to treatment. Iweala is the author of “Beasts of No Nation,” but this is much lighter, if no less tragic, fare. Graft and corruption compromise the resources: Iweala and a doctor “wait for a government official Doc had invited to tour the clinic in hopes of convincing him to provide funds for its upkeep, possibly even an upgrade….He had invited the man a number of times before, waited for hours, and not seen anyone.” Iweala even speculates about cultural causes, including conservativism and machismo. Fela Kuti, a national pop star who died of AIDS, and whose brother was minister of health during the 80s, swore off condoms and married dozens of women, refusing to believe he was ill. In this book, Iweala attempts to give voice and face to AIDS, yet by the end of his tour, he seems frustrated while trying to foreground hopeful signs.
March 7, 2018
What was once considered the disease of American gay men has morphed to color the world's opinions about sex and health on the entire continent if Africa. In "Our Kind of People" Uzodimna Iweala explores the impact of HIV/AIDS among the people of his home country – Nigeria.
Iweala weaves a story of Nigerians first resisting, but slowly becoming vocal about the ways HIV has impacted their friends, families, and selves and how Nigeria (along with other impacted nations) have begun moving toward prevention, treatment, and healing.
The intent of this journey is to not only normalize and humanity HIV/AIDS to the reader, but also to demystify the African context of HIV/AIDS specifically through Nigeria as a case study. Rich in firsthand accounts from survivors, family members, epidemiologists, doctors, and sex workers, among many others, Iweala does an exemplary job at this.
Iweala weaves a story of Nigerians first resisting, but slowly becoming vocal about the ways HIV has impacted their friends, families, and selves and how Nigeria (along with other impacted nations) have begun moving toward prevention, treatment, and healing.
The intent of this journey is to not only normalize and humanity HIV/AIDS to the reader, but also to demystify the African context of HIV/AIDS specifically through Nigeria as a case study. Rich in firsthand accounts from survivors, family members, epidemiologists, doctors, and sex workers, among many others, Iweala does an exemplary job at this.
July 17, 2017
I wanted to love this story and was so looking forward to reading it. But, although Iweala lends a wide lens into this world, his writing is lacking. It was hard to connect to the people in the stories he chose to tell, which was unfortunate.
January 3, 2021
Interesting and insightful...
August 17, 2012
When it comes to HIV/AIDS on the African continent we, as Westerners, are often blinded by the ubiquitous stereotypes that permeate our perspectives and opinions about Africa. We then can only rely on the authentic and experienced voices of authors, reporters, and first-person stories from those who have lived and grown up on the continent. We have to rely on those who have committed themselves to setting the record straight about what it is like to be an African who has to face HIV/AIDS every day in his/her community, country, continent and the depth of what it means to them. We can't guess. We have to lean on their understanding so as to better understand ourselves.
Uzodinma Iweala set out to chronicle the stories about HIV/AIDS in his birth country, Nigeria, in Our Kind of People. He traversed the country to discover how his countrymen and women view the disease; how they cope with it, and how they have learned to live with it. This is especially important in a country like Nigeria that is religiously conservative, but has one of the highest HIV infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Our Kind of People, Iweala traveled the country from Lagos to small rural villages to hear first-hand how people - men and women, old and young, rich and poor, are coping with HIV/AIDS and how those who have succumbed to the disease dealt with the realization that they too were living with the disease that would eventually take their lives.
Iweala talked with doctors, activists, advocates, researchers, and ordinary people about how HIV/AIDS has changed their lives, their families and their communities. What most of them revealed is that having HIV/AIDS is disgraceful for many Africans. They don't want to discuss it with others and in some cases, paralyzed by fear of people finding out, they don't even seek treatment at the hospital to get tested or to get the cocktail of drugs that will allow them to live with the disease instead of being tortured by it.
Nigeria has come a long way. Its citizens, urged on by those brave enough to face HIV/AIDS from a realistic perspective and can-do approach, have also come to live with it instead of hiding in fear from it. HIV/AIDS is a part of life in Nigeria - few people are not touched by the disease in some way.
One of the painful truths about Our Kind of People is that while Iweala discounts the Western stereotypes about Africans and HIV/AIDS those same stereotypes seem to be played out throughout the book. I suppose that is the power of stereotypes - everyone is plagued by them no matter how hard we try not to be. Nevertheless Our Kind of People is a much-needed look at the African perspective of HIV/AIDS, one that is sorely needed in the conversation about the disease and its affect on the African continent.
Uzodinma Iweala set out to chronicle the stories about HIV/AIDS in his birth country, Nigeria, in Our Kind of People. He traversed the country to discover how his countrymen and women view the disease; how they cope with it, and how they have learned to live with it. This is especially important in a country like Nigeria that is religiously conservative, but has one of the highest HIV infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Our Kind of People, Iweala traveled the country from Lagos to small rural villages to hear first-hand how people - men and women, old and young, rich and poor, are coping with HIV/AIDS and how those who have succumbed to the disease dealt with the realization that they too were living with the disease that would eventually take their lives.
Iweala talked with doctors, activists, advocates, researchers, and ordinary people about how HIV/AIDS has changed their lives, their families and their communities. What most of them revealed is that having HIV/AIDS is disgraceful for many Africans. They don't want to discuss it with others and in some cases, paralyzed by fear of people finding out, they don't even seek treatment at the hospital to get tested or to get the cocktail of drugs that will allow them to live with the disease instead of being tortured by it.
Nigeria has come a long way. Its citizens, urged on by those brave enough to face HIV/AIDS from a realistic perspective and can-do approach, have also come to live with it instead of hiding in fear from it. HIV/AIDS is a part of life in Nigeria - few people are not touched by the disease in some way.
One of the painful truths about Our Kind of People is that while Iweala discounts the Western stereotypes about Africans and HIV/AIDS those same stereotypes seem to be played out throughout the book. I suppose that is the power of stereotypes - everyone is plagued by them no matter how hard we try not to be. Nevertheless Our Kind of People is a much-needed look at the African perspective of HIV/AIDS, one that is sorely needed in the conversation about the disease and its affect on the African continent.
November 21, 2014
Uzodinma Iweala, the author of Our Kind of People, is a medical doctor and an award-winning novelist. Born in Nigeria, he is a graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and he continues to divide his time between his adopted country and his birth country. All of these things make him eminently qualified to tell the story of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and other parts of Africa from a, shall we say, post-colonial perspective. As he comments early in his book:
"For the rest of the world, Africa’s story has been one of exploitation, famine, floods, war, and now tragic demise as a result of HIV/AIDS. This troubles me. Despite growing up with exposure to both the Western world and Africa—in particular, Nigeria, where my family is from—even I sometimes succumb to thinking of Africa as a place beyond hope and Africans as sad creatures destined to slow-dance with adversity. I should know better, because I have experienced the continent, at least my small corner of it, as a place characterized by something other than tragedy, but it is hard not to think negatively, especially when the vast majority of media from the past few hundred years—the explorers’ accounts, novels, newspaper articles, documentaries—have focused on Africa’s pain. Though a relatively new disease, HIV/ AIDS and its stories have again brought to the foreground a whole set of images and stereotypes about Africans, our societies, our bodies, our sexualities. Many of these representations of Africa are deployed to elicit sympathy and encourage assistance with HIV/AIDS and other issues. Often, however, they unknowingly encourage the opposite, distancing and disconnection, because they provide an image of Africa and Africans to which few people can relate. The lives and voices of real people, who like everybody else in this world find ways to cope with adversity, are often lost amid the drumbeat of deprivation and demise. This confuses me. At times, this angers me. While I understand that Africa—its countries, its people—has endured a fair amount of adversity, the tragic Africa is not the only continent I know."
Over the course of several years, Iweala interviewed people from all sides of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria, from government officials to frontline heath care providers to activists and educators to people living with HIV/AIDS. He examines issues of stigma, lack of public education and debate, social and cultural attitudes toward sexuality, the role of poverty and the cost of ARV drugs as elements in the spread of the infection in Nigeria - which has the third-largest population of HIV positive people in the world. A highly accessible look at a serious health problem that the developed world has too often tended to sensationalise and yet ignore at the same time.
"For the rest of the world, Africa’s story has been one of exploitation, famine, floods, war, and now tragic demise as a result of HIV/AIDS. This troubles me. Despite growing up with exposure to both the Western world and Africa—in particular, Nigeria, where my family is from—even I sometimes succumb to thinking of Africa as a place beyond hope and Africans as sad creatures destined to slow-dance with adversity. I should know better, because I have experienced the continent, at least my small corner of it, as a place characterized by something other than tragedy, but it is hard not to think negatively, especially when the vast majority of media from the past few hundred years—the explorers’ accounts, novels, newspaper articles, documentaries—have focused on Africa’s pain. Though a relatively new disease, HIV/ AIDS and its stories have again brought to the foreground a whole set of images and stereotypes about Africans, our societies, our bodies, our sexualities. Many of these representations of Africa are deployed to elicit sympathy and encourage assistance with HIV/AIDS and other issues. Often, however, they unknowingly encourage the opposite, distancing and disconnection, because they provide an image of Africa and Africans to which few people can relate. The lives and voices of real people, who like everybody else in this world find ways to cope with adversity, are often lost amid the drumbeat of deprivation and demise. This confuses me. At times, this angers me. While I understand that Africa—its countries, its people—has endured a fair amount of adversity, the tragic Africa is not the only continent I know."
Over the course of several years, Iweala interviewed people from all sides of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria, from government officials to frontline heath care providers to activists and educators to people living with HIV/AIDS. He examines issues of stigma, lack of public education and debate, social and cultural attitudes toward sexuality, the role of poverty and the cost of ARV drugs as elements in the spread of the infection in Nigeria - which has the third-largest population of HIV positive people in the world. A highly accessible look at a serious health problem that the developed world has too often tended to sensationalise and yet ignore at the same time.
July 25, 2013
Uzodinma Iwela wrote Beasts of No Nation a few years ago about child soldiers in West Africa, now he tackles AIDS. Iwela is both a resident of the United States and Nigeria where he was born. He received his Bachelor's at Harvard and an MD at Columbia. What he chose to do was write and hasxwon awards for both fiction and nonfiction. In Our Kind of People, Iweala travels Nigeria to talk about AIDS with people in all areas, urban and rural. He talks with men who practice polygamy and AIDS was introduced by a wife who had been widowed before. How sex workers fit into the mix and average men and women who have sex though it it rarely discussed. Many people got HIV or died mysteriously. Like Rock Hudson was a revelation when he died in the US, the entertainer Fela became the famous AIDS victim in Nigeria. His brother, a doctor, could never get Fela to believe he had AIDS and get treatment. The brother spoke out after his death and more Nigerians sought treatment and are surviving. The poverty of Nigeria makes it difficult to access condoms, especially ones that work, and drugs to keep people alive. A campaign for human rights brought more treatment and drugs in. What I enjoyed of this book was the simple kind voice of the author, his ways of allowing Nigerians to tell their story and a simple way to fill in gaps without losing the people's voice. A simply written book that made me feel close to the people of Nigeria.
August 26, 2012
The author goes deeper to answer his own questions about the future of his homeland (Nigeria) and Africa concerning HIV/AIDS. I liked this personal look, and the vignettes the author creates from the people he meets- it offers a humanization on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Interesting section on stigmas that can be applied to any source of poverty. My favorite quote comes right at the end, and leaves me feeling like I want to keep reading. I love how the author suggests that healing will begin when HIV negative and HIV positive people make meaningful connections in community. That is a worthy goal with everyone, everywhere around the world.
April 20, 2014
This is a troubling book....but a necessary read......I find this book very engrossing....I read many years ago "As the Band Played on"......by Randy Shiltz..I also have read other books on HIV-AIDS......it's complexities...the stigmas......the going back and forth of the disease causes and treatments and costs.....but this book is an exceptional in its scope....breadth..insight ..shockingness honesty.......I recommend it to be read by any health care provider......nurse...docters....nursing assistants...lab and xray techs....it is a good book.....
July 17, 2016
Iweala set out to write a book about HIV/AIDS from a personal perspective with a focus on Nigeria. I think his goal wass partially accomplished. He offered a myriad of stories with adequate historical and medical background. But these stories were poorly executed and organized. Iweala moved from one subject to another without fully fleshing out each one. I found it hard to connectconnect with the subjects interviewed. I did however get a better understanding of how HIV/AIDS affects Nigerian lives.
January 9, 2017
I appreciated how accessible (language wise) that this book was. My favorite thing is the writers constant checking of himself as well as his awareness of the preconceived notions that he carries. It's all very honest and necessary. Some parts I had a hard time reading but I will chalk that up to my own ethnocentrism/personal feelings.
October 28, 2014
"I thought it great for anyone who recognizes the giant gap that exists within our first world perceptions and the reality of life. "
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.co.uk...
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.co.uk...
August 29, 2016
An affecting and well-written exploration of Aids in Africa (concentrating on Nigeria) which brings the individuals' stories to the fore and argues for a change in the way HIV, Aids and those who suffer it are perceived and treated but never slips into sentimentality or pity.
December 2, 2012
This book was OK but I didn't feel it really added anything new to the AIDS-in-Africa discussion.
January 4, 2013
This review can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com or www.amazon.com as part of the Vine Program.
July 7, 2013
One of the best books (if not the best) I've ever read about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.
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August 30, 2013362.19697 I969 2013
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April 26, 2024Mind blowing the cultural impacts that are associated with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Loved this read.
November 5, 2024
The right combination of traumatic and informative, yet an extremely important read!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 27 reviews