There is no one unified policy of southern African governments towards the AIDS epidemic.  Different governments in different countries have attacked the problem from different angles and achieved very different results.  Senegal, Uganda, and South Africa all have been afflicted by the scourge of AIDS, and yet one country managed to keep the epidemic fairly under control since it began, the second regained control after a hard battle, and the third has yet to gain control over the epidemic.  Yet, all of these countries are party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  So which of these countries, if any, are living up to their Convention obligation to protect their children?

    The government of Uganda has pulled out the stops when dealing with the AIDS epidemic, using education as a major tool for prevention.  The rate of HIV infection in Uganda has been dropping since 1993, a huge accomplishment in this country where no family was unaffected by the disease.  The campaign for complete community involvement and focus on education has been very successful.  Eight percent of Ugandan adults had HIV in 1999, compared to fourteen percent in the early nineties.  (http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/africa/2000/aids_in_africa/casestudy_uganda.stm)  For a country that had to deal with AIDS in epidemic proportion, it has made great strides to combat the spread of the disease.  Many times fighting tradition, society, or religion, the education campaign was treacherous, but it has made a huge difference.  The percentage of Ugandan girls who had used a condom tripled between 1994 and 1997 (UNAIDS).  Although AIDS still plagues Uganda, the people and the government are working together to fight it.

    In Senegal, the HIV virus never exploded to epidemic proportion, although it did still affect a large part of the population.  In attempt to combat the spread of the disease, Senegal has included everyone in its campaign for education.  Even the Imams in this Muslim country join in the fight, preaching abstinence but allowing AIDS educators to promote condoms. (http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/africa/2000/aids_in_africa/casestudy_uganda.stm)  Popular musicians write songs encouraging safe sex, and condom use has skyrocketed.  BBC News says, "With an HIV infection rate that is still below 2%, Senegal has become a poster nation for Aids prevention."

   Unlike Uganda and Senegal, the government of South Africa, incidentally a much larger and much richer nation, has not embraced the concept of community involvement in AIDS education.  In fact, the government seems to need some AIDS education of its own, recently beginning to claim that HIV does not cause AIDS.  1500 new people are infected every day in South Africa, and not only will the government not advance a campaign to stop its spread, it choose instead to support misconceptions and prejudices associated with the virus and those who contract it.  The South African government may have many excuse as to why it cannot afford to fight this disease, reluctant to spend more money on health care or drugs.  However, South Africa is the second richest country on the continent, and the much poorer countries are managing to at least curb the spread of HIV with education.  It seems that South Africa would rather perpetuate the myths and misconceptions, since these myths make it easier for the government to get away with ignoring the problem.  (For more information on one of South Africa's most prevalent myths and how it affects the spread of HIV, Click Here.)

    Each of the countries affected by the AIDS epidemic attempts to deal with it differently.  Yet, each of the countries discussed here is subject to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Senegal and Uganda are in dire need of resources to fulfill all their responsibilities to protect the children, and yet the governments are doing what they can with what they have to protect their children from the spread of AIDS.  South Africa has much more resources to deal with the epidemic, and yet all the government seems to be capable of doing is making excuses for why they aren't protecting their children.  Those excuses seem quite empty to the millions of children affected by AIDS in that country.  The CRC says, "States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation."  If South Africa is unable or unwilling to provide for its children, the next step might be the  international community.