HIV / AIDS Implication in African Governance Implications of HIV / AIDS on Botswana's Governance

This dissertation paper is a research study that foresees on the governance structure of African nations, in particular, Botswana. The country has had a declining development on the improvements being instigated in government. This has been attributed to ht increasing rates of HIV / AIDS in the country; more so, it has been rated top among nations with the highest rate of HIV / AIDS infection. This paper raises concerns being implicated on in the social and economic aspects of Botswana government structure and Africa in general. The future is also prospected with a close analysis on the disease's trend in the country, and the importance of reducing the rate of infection for the betterment of governance.

Impact of HIV / AIDS on Botswana's Governance

Introduction

Governance is the act of utilizing institutional resources in a way of managing societal problems and affairs. It concerns decisions decided on by the authoritative power. A special arm of authority, the government is formed with vital committees, commissions and departments (ministries) to address and associate appropriately with a country's citizens. Governance deals with contemporary issues of socio-cultural, political, economic and technological developments in a nation (Turke, 2008). Analysis on the developments taking place in puts governance on the lime light as a factor pulling down continental progress. Consequentially, different nations, particularly Botswana, have had declining improvements in their governance structures. The accredited factor implicating on this is the HIV / AIDS pandemic. The disease has put human capital at stake that is a driving motivation on governance and is related fields. It is, therefore, important to address HIV / AIDS implications on social and economic developments that relate to the progress of a country's governance.

Literature review

a) Research design

This discussion is an analysis gathered form secondary sources. The methodological analysis is a qualitative and figurative argument and supports that HIV / AIDS has declining effects on the governance of Botswana and in Africa in general.

b) Data analysis

The discussion is an investigation on the social and economic factors are undermined and affect the trend of government structure in Botswana and Africa. The results developed present a deliberate, unidentified, post-evaluation and a research-based review.

c) Results

i) Social factors

HIV / AIDS increasingly found its threshold in the African continent in the early 20th century. Pandemic increasingly spread in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Botswana and Swaziland are the most hit nations by the pandemic (Mmolai, 2012). It has threatened humanitarian and economic devastation in unexpected proportions (MacFarlan and Sgherri, 2001). A subsequent social impact that has immensely declined governance improvement in Botswana is discrimination. Discriminatory gaps through stigmatization (Letamo).

In responding to the increasing trend of the pandemic, many African governments, inclusive of the Botswana government, adopted the concept of excluding the victims. This was effectuated to prevent direct relations to the non-infected persons. Infected people experience stigma and the negative attitudes implicated to them deter them from pursuing Medicare. The persons are also abandoned from family, ostracism, job opportunities, and property allocation and are submitted to expulsions in schools and violence.

Social human implications to governance in Africa and specifically in Botswana have inflicted macro environmental issues. Demographical projections have obtruded long-term negative encroachments to governance aspects such as labor, national capital, and GDP (Masha). Potential economic boosters infected with the disease are denied opportunities to contribute to national progress for the less period they are available. Demography changes have also impacted by increasing poverty levels. The governments of Botswana, Uganda, Lesotho, Swaziland and others have been working to sustain their victim population from the food insecurity, accessible to other vital amenities such as ARV medication and water (Forsythe, 2009). Orphans are left under no social positions to support themselves. Eventually, governments have to shift huge amount of cash to the sustenance of the victims and the deceased victims. This has passed on reluctant on effects on infrastructure and education.

ii) Economic factors

Africa has been trailing in world levels of attaining high economic and investment levels. This has been attributed to many factors of which HIV / AIDS accounts to. The governance of a nation greatly depends on the economic accountability in all its sectors. Economic development increases a country's progress by providing necessitated funds to address the nation's prospects of development (Haacker, 2002). The HIV / AIDS pandemic has exasperated economic problems Botswana, and resultantly, enormous expending of resources in trying to prevent, treatment...

The repercussions if the disease to governance in Africa and Botswana has implicated to medical finances of the public, national workforce and loss of international cognition and accountability. Economic growth has redundantly reduced, likewise to reducing national savings, and future economic prospects.
A major sector affected economically in Botswana and Africa, in general, is the medical sector. Cost of having prevention care and for purchasing the drugs to suppress the sufferings of the disease are exceptionally high. The Botswana budget is usually miscalculated, based on the resources and structures used in addressing the high rate of increased infection (Deacon and Stephney, 2005). Initially, medical funds allocated to the medical ministry are non-inclusive of HIV / AIDS inflicted costs. However, the government is obliged to squeeze in funds to assist the National Aids program to deal the pandemic.

The purchase of biomedical equipment, drugs and medical staff is exceptionally high. The Botswana government has taken a step in providing generous treatments to its infected patients in accordance to the international AIDS treatment standards (EPub, 2002). This is evidently represented from the social impact analysis on governance; that most patients and their families has financial constraints and increased poverty that cannot support vital HIV / AIDS medication. Recent statistical analysis in 2011 showed that the capital costs inflicted to these practice range from 5-6% of the total GDP (EPub, 2002). Similarly, ARV drugs are supplied by the government to its patients. Each and every year the number of patients increases and so does need to provide treatment. The economy is heavily deprived of its developmental progress due the costs of drugs and treatment that cumulatively amount to 12 million from 2003 to 2010 (EPub, 2002). Other medical costs that the government takes responsibility of are those of ARV therapy and HIV / AIDS pilot program. Consequentially, these costs of HIV / AIDS Medicare from the government parastatals pull back the governance progress and eventually the derailment of the African continent to the expectations of the global economy (NACA, 2003).

HIV / AIDS has caused a large problem in reducing the workforce in government sectors. Instantly, the pandemic has affected government employees through high mortality rate and morbidity. The public servants implicate on fiscal costs through absenteeism, leaves, new incurred costs on recruiting new staff and other medical and death benefits to their families. The funds are difficult for the government to extract from their annual budgets (Lule and Haacker, 2011). The HIV / AIDS program incurs extra expenditures due to the unavailable public domain information such as mortality increase and absenteeism in Botswana's civil service. Eventually all government funds are blurred due to efficiency and financial losses (Lule and Haacker, 2011).

Just as, lack of the workforce and increased costs to prevent HIV / AIDS have implicated negatively on economic governance, loss of international accountability to Botswana and Africa has increased declining levels of hoe governance is conducted. Despite the efforts in coming up with comprehensive democratic transitions, HIV / AIDS has still prevailed. Increased societal problems have put the African nations, especially Botswana under international scrutiny. Continued prevalence of the disease depicts to the outside world that leadership has been exercised inappropriately (Poku, 2006). African disparities and socio-economic constraints due to HIV / AIDS prevalence have incapacitated the degree at which government are required to deal with national concerns. Most African nations have already declared the pandemic national disasters, but do little in mitigating the disease. International dependence on monetary funds has made international donors retreat from the aid. Self-education and raising awareness in African nations has since not impacted to people to decline engaging in compromising situations of contracting HIV / AIDS; hence the query, why help a people that cannot help themselves?

Intergenerational loss of human capital due to HIV / AIDS prevalence has been highly publicized by the conduced international studies, especially those conducted by the World Bank (Poku, 2006). The effects have implicated on all aspects of governance weakening aggravations in Africa's capacity (Adepoju, 2008) eradicate or reduce the spread of the pandemic (Bell et al., 2003). It is literally known that the civil service structural reforms in Africa is lacking and takes the advantage to brain-drain international agencies (McPherson, 2003). Considerably, all stakeholders in governance are obliged to put a stake in assisting themselves.

Conclusion

HIV / AIDS has caused extensive fragility to the governance structure of Africa. Botswana as a case study has depicted how social and economic implications undermine progress. The epidemic has weakened institutions and parastatals, thus rendering the declination of governance improvements, such as achieving world-class democracy and political stability (Poku, 2006).…