Politics and policy outcomes on children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. (Special Issue: Children, AIDS, and development policy.)

摘要

This article seeks to identify whether any elements of governance or democracy are causal determinants of the effectiveness of policies directed at children affected by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. If we can identify any such political factors, we will better understand why some countries respond to AIDS policies more effectively, but such findings would also hold clues for more effective advocacy strategies. Through a series of statistical regression analyses, we find that good governance is the main political determinant of effective policy outcomes on AIDS. However, we find that different elements of democracy generate better outcomes for non-stigmatised policies such as schooling and immunisation. We conclude with the argument that in order to become politically sustainable, policies directed at children affected by AIDS should be AIDS sensitive in character but universal in application. Only with such a political framing will politics work for the benefit of children affected by AIDS in Africa.