HIV/AIDS, State fragility, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1308: A View from Africa

When, in 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussed a global response to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic, it was the first time in the institution's history that its members had debated a non-mandated issue. The preserve of this institution had, until then, been focused on preventing wars and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Yet the mounting evidence on the societal impacts of HIV/AIDS was no less devastating for affected communities. In most heavily affected societies, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS doubled in less than ten years. But was the case that led to UNSC Resolution 1308 overstated? This article revisits the case that led to the Security Council meeting and argues that, far from being overstated, Resolution 1308 helped to avert a crisis of unimaginable proportions.