History+of+AIDS+in+Swaziland

Colonization of Swaziland: The British established an incomplete rule over Swaziland from 1894 to 1899. They withdrew their administration when the Anglo-Boer War was initiated. In 1902, they entered the Swaziland territory and announced overrule and jurisdiction in 1903, as a part of the Transvaal. Later, in 1906, Swaziland was separated when the Transvaal Colony was given responsible government. The Transvaal Colony was the addition of the South African Republic. From 1906 to 1968, Swaziland was governed by a commissioner who ruled conforming to the decrees sent forth by the British High Commissioner for South Africa. The first legislative body of Swaziland was established in 1921 by the British, which was a European Advisory Council of elected white representatives. In 1944, a Native Authorities Proclamation was put into effect, and it was revised in 1952 to grant the Swazi leader a degree of freedom that he originally did not have under British colonial indirect rule.

The British had always expected that eventually Swaziland would just become part of South Africa at some point. However, after World War II, due to the intensified racial discrimination in South Africa, the United Kingdom decided to prepare Swaziland for independence. Later in the 1960s, political parties started to form. They fought for independence and economic development. The majority of Swazis lived in rural areas, so urban parties had very few ties to those people which effected their success. Another political party was formed by traditional Swazi leaders, including King Sobhuza II, called Imbokodvo National Movement (INM). This political group focused on its close identification with the Swazi way of life. In the mid-1946, the colonial government scheduled an election in which the Swazis would participate in. The INM along with four other parties participated in the election. Most of these platforms had more radical platforms. The INM was very successful in the election, winning all 24 elective seats.

The History of AIDS in Swaziland: The first case of AIDS in Swaziland was detected in 1986. At the discovery of this disease, the government set up the Swaziland National AIDS Program, or SNAP. SNAP ran campaigns from 1986 to 1988 and from 1989 to 1992. The purpose of these campaigns were to educate people about HIV and AIDS, promote safe sex, and manage the spread of STDs. In 1992, the percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV was already at 3.9 percent, and King Mswati III declared AIDS a national disaster. King Mswati along with the rest of the government continued programs from 1993 to 2000, but despite the efforts of the government the percentage of pregnant, HIV positive women rose to a shocking 26.3 percent. After this shocking revalation, it was decided that the country's best weapons were education and communication, and all they could do was further that education for citizens. Another part of their efforts were to provide better testing and prevention services for the public. The government then released a statement saying their previous efforts were ineffective, and this was proved by the new statistics on HIV positive women. The number reached an astonishing 34.2 percent.

The increase in the number of HIV positive citizens was not only noticed by the government, but it was noticed by the Crisis Management and Technical Committee. This organization developed the National Strategic Plan for 2000-2005. Whether or not this plan was actually effective is arguable. By 2004 the percentage of pregnant women with HIV reached 42.6 percent, but it did drop to 39.2 percent in 2006. Prince Mangaliso's opinion of the situation was very well known to the public though. He blamed contraceptive manufacturers for the increase in HIV positive cases, declaring that they mislead the public on the seriousness of AIDS and how to prevent it. Prince Mangaliso was obviously not pleased with the progress, but there were some people that decided to remain more optomistic. Some groups focused on helping HIV positive women say they just need to start taking the situation more seriously. The head of Swaziland Positive Living said no one person or group of people should be blamed for the spread of AIDS.