Does the failure of political will matter in HIV/Aids fight in Africa?

(Photo: Courtesy)

As the world will be celebrating World Aids day on December 1, it is prudent to review the fight on the scourge. Since the start of 21st century, HIV and Aids have increasingly been labelled an “African disease”. The specter of HIV/Aids, whenever mentioned these days, invariably points in the direction of Africa, probably because of prohibitive, almost unbelievable statistics on HIV/Aids. According to UNAIDS, since the epidemic began, over 60 million people have been infected.

It is the fourth biggest killer worldwide with estimates of 28.1 million infected souls in Africa. If we believe these figures provided by UNAIDS, the UN organisation that has assumed a hegemonic role with regards to HIV/Aids, then the scourge will impact significantly on our socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. The epidemic feeds on existing economic and social problems and unleashes untold misery on millions of lives.