Profits over Patients: Foreign Actors' Impact on South Africa's HIV/AIDS Epidemic

In the twelve years following the end of Apartheid (1994-2006), South Africa witnessed a 500% surge in its HIV/AIDS epidemic. South Africa, as the most financially developed country in sub-Saharan Africa, had the existing resources to launch a campaign against the disease. Yet, South Africa soon became the country with the largest number of HIV-positive citizens1, a surprising result when considering the lesser developed, civil war-wrought countries occupying its economic and social peerage. In this research paper, I answer why South Africa was initially unable to both effectively slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and provide better healthcare resources to its citizens in the twelve years post-Apartheid. I address this question by discussing how relevant actions of foreign players influenced South Africa's poor response to the epidemic. Scholars are quick to criticize South Africa's government and public health authorities, vaguely citing neoliberal economics as exacerbating HIV/AIDs infections and aid campaigns, without accounting for the paramount influence of international players. Without extensively noting the role of these foreign actors, including countries like the United States and institutions like the World Bank, existing scholarship fails to depict an accurate and comprehensive outlook on why South Africa's epidemic became so devastating.