After reading "Successes Against AIDS in Africa" by Ben Barber, it is easy to conclude that although some countries are successful in the stop against AIDS, other African governments' lack of help to stop the AIDS epidemic has caused millions of innocent lives to be taken. In fact, the president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, claims that AIDS is a disease of poverty and not much can be done until they receive more foreign aid.
             The fact is that African government officials, who are highly "respected by common people," are too embarrassed to act as a spokesman for abstinence. Also, for males to have excessive amounts of sex with much younger females out of wedlock has become as cultural as the clothes they wear. However, in some countries, such as Thailand, "HIV-positive rates dropped from 10 percent to 1 or 2 percent" after government leaders spoke out about condom use. Then again, "most of the world's 22 million AIDS deaths have already occurred in sub-Saharan Africa."
             Although Mbeki may not realize it, perhaps the best foreign aid that Africans in Uganda receive comes straight out of Grapevine, Texas, where a minister broadcasts to them the virtues of virginity. It is now the visits from Americans that help halt the epidemic in places such as this. Unlike other parts of Africa where skits, comic books, and simple speeches from famous people are offered, AIDS deaths in sub-Saharan Africa will only continue. Unless the president of South Africa swallows his pride, and allows antiviral drugs be administered to AIDS patients, only more innocent people will die.
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