A young AIDS patient in Zambia, April 2002 (Photo: AFP).

Africa accounts for 70 percent of the global population of people infected with HIV/AIDS and 80 percent of global deaths from AIDS-related conditions. In Kenya, 15 percent of the adult population is HIV-positive, and a 1.3-percent reduction in annual economic growth is ascribed to HIV infection.

President Daniel arap Moi observed in 1999 that AIDS is not just a serious threat to social and economic development; it is a threat to the very existence of Kenyans. AIDS has reduced many families in Africa to the status of beggars. The disease has ravaged the educational sector, reducing the number of experienced teachers; children have been kept out of schools to take care of the sick. Agricultural productivity has been reduced; the number of orphans and elderly who need care has increased. In essence, AIDS is eating Southern Africa, which is facing the worst food crisis in a decade. Reports from Swaziland indicate that some people have no choice but to eat wild fruits to fill their stomachs.

The Southern African states are faced with a double tragedy. AIDS has contributed to a 4-percent fall in productivity by cutting worker output by half. The death of 7 million farmers has hampered food production. In Burkina Faso, 25 percent of rural families have had to cut back on farm work. About 13 million people are faced with death and starvation.

The European Union is set to provide close to 130 million euros to check the situation. In the short term this may improve matters, but the political disease that afflicts African countries will soon plunge their populations into other catastrophes. In Swaziland, the government bought a jet for the king worth US$44 million. In Zimbabwe, the government bought Mercedes limousines for the ruling elite. Africa’s wealth owners have relocated 37 percent of their wealth outside Africa. How can we expect outside investment to create wealth when we cannot invest ourselves? Agricultural subsidies by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries amount to $10 million—the figure U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan requested per year to help stem the AIDS scourge in Africa. Eliminating these subsidies would do far more than the token aid during a crisis.

Pharmaceutical companies should play a role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Allowing those companies to compete here will lead to lower drug prices. Another strategy is to empower Africans economically by allowing them to trade amongst themselves and with developed nations. Yet another is to liberalize the information sector—for one cannot fight AIDS while scuttling the media, press freedom, and airwaves.

As countries seek to tackle HIV/AIDS and other calamities, it is vital that the political process be streamlined by making rulers more accountable to their people and instituting policies that enhance freedom and prosperity. The African ruling elite ought to understand that it stands to benefit more with a prosperous population than with an impoverished, sickly one.