Ariane Petney is a German and Australian citizen currently residing in Germany. After her Abitur, she completed her BA in social work and social education at the SRH Technical University in Heidelberg, writing her thesis on "A combination of boarding schools and foster families as a new approach to the care and integration of AIDS orphans in South Africa". She is a state-approved social worker. After completing her BA, she began her studies in medical anthropology at the South Asia Institute at the University of Heidelberg and completed her M.A. Health and Society in South Asia (medical anthropology) in 2010. Ms. Petney's M.A. Thesis was on the “Experiences with HIV/AIDS and the HIV/AIDS-related stigma among infected and affected children in India”. Her main interests are the fields of reproductive health and research on HIV/AIDS and other Sexually-Transmitted Diseases. She is also interested in the social and developmental problems of orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and the way in which traditional medical systems approach emerging diseases and their treatment, as well as in the mental and situational problems of refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers. After finishing her M.A., Ms. Petney worked as an educational counselor and was involved in prevention work in the field of HIV/AIDS. Currently, Ms. Petney is currently working for MSF (Doctors without Borders) as a health professional in Armenia.
