In my debut novel, The Heroine Next Door, I allude to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Possible reasons for the initial delayed response to the crisis are outlined in this infographic. The reinvigorated response, spurred by a national ART rollout campaign, is a matter of public record. Other challenges in optimally managing HIV/AIDS in resource-poor settings such as South Africa are described in my upcoming non-fiction book: HIV/TB/Diabetes resource kit (available on Amazon).

1. SA HIV Timeline
Socio-political context for the prolonged delay in initiating a phased
ART rollout in a country where 18% of the people are estimated to be
HIV+ and the proportion of new infections ~16%, based on 2013
estimates (UNAIDS)
1984-1986
1987-1988
1989-1991
1992-1993
1995
1996-1997
1998
1999
 Chris Hani, (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993) , was a chief of staff
of the ANC’s armed wing; *among South African adults
Sources: Wikipedia; UNAIDS GAP report. 2014; Nackerdien Z:
The Heroine Next Door (& references therein). 2015; van der
Vliet V. AIDS: Losing "The New Struggle"? Daedalus.
2001;130(1):151-84.
2000
2001-2015
• 300 children killed;
1,000 wounded;
11,000 detained;
18,000 arrested
• Country
“ungovernable”
We don’t need
no education
• R1 million
• Sechaba, an ANC
publication,
questions African
origin of virus
• Some US academics
refute the notion
that HIV causes AIDS
Paltry budget &
mistrust
• HIV prevalence* ~
1.74%
• “…we cannot afford
to allow the AIDS
epidemic to ruin the
realization of our
dreams”
Hani’s
speech
& aftermath
• Comprehensive
draft of national
AIDS strategy
• Hani assassination
• AIDS =“Afrikaner
Intervention to
Deprive us of Sex”
Plans & bias
• Sarafina II, a
government-
sponsored AIDS
musical, fails
• Cost ~ R14.2 million
Campaign fails
• AIDS plan falters
• An industrial
solvent, Virodene
PO58, touted as
anti-HIV drug
Pseudo-science
• “Ten minutes to
save the Nation”
speech ineffective
• AIDS crisis summit
• AZT use
discontinued
Talk & AZT
• HIV
prevalence*~22.4%
• Western Cape
province treats
patients with AZT
↑HIV & ignoring
AZT ban
• Criticism of AIDS
denialism gains
momentum in SA
• Mbeki withdraws
from the public
debate on HIV &
AIDS
Turning the
tide
• Law upheld for
generic ART
production in SA
• R5 billion spent in
2012 on HIV mgmt.
• Epidemic stabilized
thanks to phased
ART rollout
Moving forward
:
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