HIV/AIDS Could Jeopardize International and Regional Stability, New York Times Editorial Says
The international HIV/AIDS crisis is not only a "humanitarian catastrophe" but also a "threat to global and regional stability," a New York Times editorial says. Until recently, the "main impact" of HIV/AIDS was felt in central and southern Africa, but a recent National Intelligence Council report indicates that "the next big wave" of HIV infections will be in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India and China -- nations that are regional or international "powers" and account for nearly half the world's population. According to the report, the number of HIV cases in those five nations could triple over the next eight years, to 50 to 75 million. The epidemic has the "potential to disrupt the economic, political and military structures" of these countries, according to the Times. Although the "reliability" of the report's projections -- which exceed those previously made by health officials -- is "hard to judge," the fact that HIV/AIDS is "gaining momentum in countries whose governments have not given it the high priority needed to stem the epidemic" is "surely right," the editorial says. "Officials [in these five nations] need to understand that they are not only facing the prospect of millions of sufferers but of the very fabric of their societies coming unraveled," the editorial concludes (New York Times, 10/4).
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