African countries are in various stages of grappling with the reality of dismantling post-settler, colonial governance infrastructures. The cure for this epidemic is not national but international. The deep silence that makes African leaders and societies want to deny the problem that render them helpless is something the West cannot fix. But the fact that they are poor is not. Wealthy international governments must help.
Debt cancellation is a prerequisite to African development.
International governments and communities must come out to join this struggle. The Bush administration has shown little or no interest in leading an international effort to fight the scourge. But to comprehend the full horror AIDS has visited on Africa, I talked to David Scondras who has just returned from a trip to Malawi. One third of Malawi is a big lake where people get most of their protein from fish. The lake is beautiful, and reminded me of the great lakes, except for the hippos of course.