Stability+of+National+Politics

 

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President Daniel Moi of Kenya has declared the AIDS/HIV epidemic to be a national crisis. However, not much has been done to resolve the situation. The Kenya AIDS Watch Institute has called it "a tragedy not just at the personal level, but also at the national level." They have also pointed the finger at politicians as the "biggest catalyst" for AIDS spreading so quickly throughout the country. They also say, however, that there are many good reasons to turn the war on AIDS into a large political issue. The country needs the "political commitment" in order to provide a strong force against the disease.

The Kenyan government has organized a framework for successful fighting, which includes the National AIDS Control Council. Despite the efforts, this group has failed miserably and is actually under investigation. A group called Global Fund to Fight AIDS would provide financial support to countries in need. But the NACC failed to win their support, even with the 2.5 million infected people in Kenya.

The government's inability to gain the support of necessary backers such as the Global Fund is "an indictment of the country's health authorities' lackadaisical approach to health" and current supporters of the fight are trying to get around the government to access the Fund without the government's support.

The United Nations stepped in when the government went so far as to say that the epidemic was leveling off and even decreasing; the facts were that Kenya has the third highest amount of AIDS orphans than any other country.

The children are the worst affected. Because their parents died of or are suffering from AIDS, they are abandoned and shunned, getting no support, no care, and no sympathy. Joanne Csete, a researcher in the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, said, "If families are not there to help these children, then the state has the responsibility to provide protection." So far, this hasn't happened. The government remains in its "conspiracy of silence," unwilling and unhelpful.

Sources: "Kenya: Government Neglects AIDS Orphans." __Human Rights News__. 25 June 2001. Human Rights Watch. 20 Feb 2008  "Kenya AIDS Watch Institute." __Kenya AIDS Watch Institute__. 20 Feb 2008 . By Samantha B