Comment: Africa: Why HIV and AIDS is Ravaging Continent (2)Anonymous The extent to which HIV and AIDS has ravaged Africa has been necessitated by many factors, poverty and the lack of a culture of caution included. For me, the factors that have predisposed us as Africans to HIV and AIDS are structural, the chief culprits being poverty and culture. In addition, we also have many programmes that sometimes give contradictory messages due to preferences by some funding agencies.