The crisis of AIDS in Africa has many contributing factors, some of which cannot be discussed on the evening news.

Unlike North America, the epidemic is almost entirely confined to heterosexuals. One major contributory factor is the Sub-Saharan preference for "dry sex"; i.e. there is a belief that lubricating vaginal secretions are disgusting. This belief is particularly prevalent in rural areas, and even in urban areas, wet sex is considered a western perversion. To please their men, many African women will insert pessaries, soil, or powder into the vagina to dry it out prior to intercourse. This has the unfortunate effect of increasing abrasion and tearing, and hence the risk of transmission of HIV between man and woman.

Fixing the AIDS problem in Africa is difficult. Western aid workers must combat suspicion and deeply ingrained social custom. To make things more difficult, there is a common African belief that AIDS was developed by the United States CIA as a way to kill blacks. (This rumor has been attributed to KGB operations in the third world).