SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS OF THE FILM
"Dying in Silence" makes specific points about the AIDS epidemic that are applicable to the whole southern African region.
1) People don't want to admit they might have AIDS and therefore don't get tested or try to contain the disease by behaving responsibly.
2) The epidemic spread because of a lack of information. Many government leaders did not take the disease seriously. Other leaders, such as Malawi's Kamazu Banda, discouraged discussion about sexual matters.
3) The traditional role of women in Malawi also influences the spread of AIDS. Historically, this is a culture where a large percentage of the children did not make it to adulthood. A common practice was for parents to have as many children as possible to insure some would survive and care for the parents in their old age. Rituals, such as sexual initiation, taught women to be passive when it came to sex. Though this practice is changing, it is still prevalent in many areas.
4) AIDS is decimating the leadership and technical groups. Disastrous numbers of medical workers, teachers, police, and government administrators have died and there are not enough skilled people to replace them.
This drain on human infrastructure is reducing opportunity, slowly draining the economy, and making the governmental institutions more insecure. Crime and corruption are on the rise. The end result could be instability and chaos.