Today's fight against HIV/AIDS faces new challenges related to social development and a modified landscape of treatment, prevention and health systems. The importance of biomedical technologies and new strategies to tackle the epidemic continues to grow. Such technologies and strategies cannot be considered in isolation of the social context in which they are conceived and delivered, which does not mean that they are immune to challenge (with regards to the effectiveness, social and ethical implications of their implementation). The health systems affected by these interventions need researchers to question the role of those people working in the field of HIV, as well as to question social inequality. Although Mali is a country with a low prevalence and a concentrated epidemic, the AIDS problem is no less critical here. The challenge goes well beyond the groups said to be 'at risk', especially as Bamako, the capital of Mali, has the highest rate of prevalence. Bamako is the area featured in our study. This piece of social science research aims to clarify the nature of the changes underway in this field, in order to influence the definition and direction of new research and future programs. Health geography seeks to study social transformation that features epidemics as a symptom. This area plays a fundamental role at the 'practical level' (clarifying the conditions for success or failure of preventative measures) and also at the 'analytical level' (in proposing new ways of thinking). Social and territorial contexts have varying influences on the way HIV/AIDS is portrayed, on how messages about prevention are received, and therefore on the vulnerability of the people concerned. According to our analysis, based on two urban areas of Bamako (using surveys, interviews, focus groups) it seems clear that the influence of 'context' is at times at odds with the courses of action taken by some responsible for the fight against AIDS.
