Zimbabwe or Botswana - AIDS doesn't care

Zimbabwe has been receiving more and more coverage in the news as of late because of how completely out of control the situation in that country is. Since President Mugabe started seizing the private property of white landowners about five years ago, the economy has been spiralling out of control, in a similar way to Germany after WWI. Inflation is so great here that people literally have to use bricks of currency to buy basic necessities. Zimbabwe is home to some of Africa's most important species of wildlife. The Zambezi plain, for example, was the shooting location for one of the IMAX films about African wildlife that I remember watching as a kid. Corruption, crime and poverty are rampant in Zimbabwe and the government there is unable to control their own workers. Park rangers recently killed five elephants with AK-47s in an effort to find a rogue elephant, elephants the park rangers were supposed to be protecting. Tourism, a major source of income for the nation, has suffered dramatically in the past five years as Zimbabwe has been overwhelmed by poverty and violence. Even Victoria Falls seems not to be the attraction it once was and certainly ought to be.

Neighboring Zimbabwe, Botswana is the wealthiest country in Africa - which still isn't saying much - with about half of its income derived from diamond sales. Gaborone is everything Harare is not: there are high rise buildings, a diversified economy, and all the hallmarks of a stable, modern society. Botswana has a zero tolerance policy for corruption, and is the least corrupt country in Africa according to a Berlin based research group (Nigeria is typically among the most corrupt, for example). The country's non-diamond mining sectors are growing at a rate greater than 5% per year (the US economy is growing at a little over 1% per year and slowing), and the country's overal GDP is on the rise. Still, the growth isn't enough to absorb the country's growing labor markets and many people even in the capitol city of Gaborone live without access to running water.

Both countries, however, are afflicted with an AIDS/HIV crisis that shows no signs of abating. In Botswana, 1 in 3 adults are estimated to have AIDS/HIV. How can a continent of struggling nations, beset with the difficulties of narcissistic dictators, crushing debt, and undeveloped natural resources, combat the greatest epidemic - reaching pandemic proportions in Africa - seen in modern history? You can't build a country from orphaned children and sick adults. Unfortunately, the problem doesn't seem to be getting any better, even with the best efforts of many international aid organizations attempting to provide quality health care for affected people. Somewhat well-off or just dirt poor - African nations are fighting the same battle against a disease that is completely misunderstood by most Africans.