Introduction
HIV/AIDS policy has received criticism from all sides and remains a contested subject in South Africa. There is no debate regarding the poignancy of the matter, rather, it lies in the epistemological stance of those who control policy making in the country and the direction policy is to head in the future. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has reached inconceivable levels. To understand how and why South Africa has fallen into this dire state is to examine the political conditions that allow for it.
Further into the paper--a talk about government and the disease.
The problems that surround the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa seem endless. It is inaccurate to use politics and policy as the sole measure of the conditions of epidemic because they are much further reaching. South Africa is a country that is still embedded in an ideological shift from past to present. Many of the social conditions that were prescribed by the apartheid government have been shaken from a legal standpoint, however, much of the same conditions exist in a social context. It will take more time to completely eradicate the apartheid ideologies of the past for the social reality of the future in South Africa. “Some apartheid-era politicians celebrate AIDS as a disease that would decimate the Black population, while scientists developed chemical and biological weapons for use on black political leaders” (Butler 604). One of the major hurdles to over come is this racist attribute of HIV/AIDS however conquering may be easier said than done for the many reasons indicated.
The government has not set forth a position that allows for the proper culmination of both the medical science approach and the behavioral approach. Absent from a great deal of the publications of HIV/AIDS research in Africa is how to correctly address the problem. It is self evident that the current policies are inefficient and less than effective but there is no evidence that suggests that a switch to the medical science approach will be the correct method of action. The research conducted has yielded to the more scientific approach but it is through experience in the country that demands a more dynamic advance on the problem of HIV/AIDS. It is simply not enough to forge ahead with anti-retroviral drugs and expect them to “cure” South Africa of its problems. The social behaviors themselves must change but they must not do so at the expense of the individual. Political leaders such as Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang should consider admitting their failures and allow for a blending of both ideological perspectives. It required a South African Constitutional Court ruling to insure the use of anti-retroviral drugs in facilities that are capable of administering the drugs. The benefits of ARVs are unquestionable and the legislative branch should not serve as the government implementation device.
The effects of HIV/AIDS will be hard felt in South Africa. The death caused by HIV/AIDS has created millions of orphaned children and the numbers are expected to climb in the continent as a whole. Other debilitating socio-economic effects will soon be felt:
“While broadly in agreement about the factors likely to reduce growth – a higher death rate among the economically active, a decrease in the capital and human resources available for production and investment, a fall in the rate of savings, declining disposable incomes, and reduced domestic consumption – economist do no agree about the likely magnitudes. (Butler 608)
Given these imperative problems associated with an unchecked epidemic, how HIV/AIDS will play politically in the upcoming Presidential elections has yet to be seen. There is great pressure from both internal and international sources to address the problem in a more passable manner.
“This pressure is complimented by on going international forces, ranging from calls for the South African government to express political commitment to fighting the epidemic to developments at the World Trade Organization meeting in September 2003. These developments expanded the opportunities for poor countries facing health problems to access cheaper drugs through the parallel importation of generic drugs.” (Willan 115)
In a book called, The End of Poverty: Economic possibility for Our Time by Jeffery D. Sachs, Sachs assesses the conditions of disease in Africa from first hand experience. He questions the link between the disease and poverty; whether poverty is a result of HIV/AIDS or HIV/AIDS is the cause poverty. Sachs questions how much the ‘rich world’ should invest in the ‘poor world’s’ health institutions. And he asks why the disparity in life expectancy between the two worlds? It is questions such as these that need to be answered in order to adequately deal with the epidemic. However, it is most important to draw attention to the issue and elevate the political commitment HIV/AIDS research and development. In the chapter entitled The Voiceless Dying he recalls a phone call with Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland. She said,
“If you want to get someone’s attention about the health crisis in Africa, ‘show them the money.’ Help them to understand the economic costs of the disease pandemic, as well as the economics of disease control. Above all, propose practical solutions based on rigorous emphasis on economic costs and benefits” (Sachs 203).
The experience of being in a country where disease, poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and unequal access to every and all resources places a greater demand for action in the mind of the visitor. HIV/AIDS is certainly a growing concern for the country of South Africa and solutions must be derived before the severity of the situation is completely realized. “The only certainty is that HIV/AIDS is an unmitigated tragedy and a developmental disaster throughout Africa…” (Sachs 200).
Excerpt was taken from Joel Van Wagenen's paper on AIDS/HIV policy in the Republic of South Africa.
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