Abstract This historical study assesses health education campaigns against sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS in Mbozi district, Tanzania, between 1980 and 2010. Archival and oral data collected in Mbozi from 2008 to 2010 reveal that the campaigns have not had the intended impact of preventing the spread of the diseases. This is in part because the campaigns do not take into account the prevailing socio-economic and cultural contexts. Nevertheless, there is an increase of public awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and a slight change of sexual behaviour. Thus, to improve on the current campaigns, the stakeholders who are involved in intervention campaigns against sexually transmitted diseases should take into account the socio-economic and cultural environment. Résumé Cette étude historique évalue les campagnes de sensibilisation contre les maladies sexuellement transmissibles, notamment le VIH/SIDA dans le district de Mbozi, en Tanzanie, entre 1980 et 2010. Les données d’archives et de sources orales recueillies à Mbozi de 2008 à 2010 révèlent que les campagnes n’ont pas eu l’impact escompté qui était de prévenir la propagation des maladies. Cela est en partie lié au fait que les campagnes ne prennent pas en compte les contextes socioéconomiques et culturels existants. Néanmoins, l’on observe une conscience croissante du publique vis-à-vis des maladies sexuellement transmissibles et un léger changement de *Univeristy of Dar es Salaam, African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship offered by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) in partnership with the International Development Research (IDRC) and Ford Foundation ; the American Council of Learned Societies-African Humanities Program (AHP) and the South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development (SEPHIS)