South Africa's AIDS crisis gets worse as leaders refuse to act

As a result of the bizarre policies of South Africa's president regarding AIDS, that nation's crisis has become one of the worst in the world. But now, South Africa has another dubious distinction: the highest per capita incidence of rape in the world.
Thousands of babies and young girls are being raped by HIV-infected men who -- lacking proper education about the disease -- believe that sexual relations with a virgin will cure them.
President Thabo Mbeki has yet to acknowledge a link between HIV and AIDS and has said that antiviral medications are as dangerous as the disease they treat. In the meantime, between 70,000 and 100,000 babies are born HIV-positive yearly, and almost 23 percent of pregnant women in South Africa are HIV positive.
In his message for World AIDS Day last Saturday, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan noted that as well as the "insecurity (that) permeates the lives and families of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, ... AIDS also shatters the security of whole societies, communities and economies."
Millions dying: This message has not reached the leadership of South Africa where at least 4.7 million South Africans, 11 percent of the population, are HIV positive, and a recent study found that it was the leading cause of death for adults in the country last year.
Yet Mbeki's head is buried in the sand where AIDS is concerned.
The drug nevirapine, given to HIV-positive pregnant women during labor, can prevent the transmission of the virus to their babies in some 50 percent of cases. What's more the German-based pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has offered to distribute the drug for free.
But the government refuses to permit the drug's widespread distribution on the grounds that it cannot adequately be monitored. Never mind that the drug's effectiveness has already been demonstrated elsewhere. Never mind that refusing the drugs to HIV-infected pregnant women is a sure death sentence for their infants.
Activist groups are increasing their pressure on Mbeki and his government. A national month of activism against HIV/AIDS began on Dec. 1, and on Nov. 25, "16 Days of Activism Against Violence on Women and Children" began which is aimed at creating a strong awareness against the abuse of women.
However, until South Africa's government recognized the magnitude of the epidemic destroying its country, little can be accomplished with marches and demonstrations.
When AIDS has more than decimated South Africa's population, what kind of a nation will be left to govern?