The Current State of AIDS

Dec 2, 2017

World AIDS Day 2010, Windhoek, NamibiaUS ARMY AFRICA

On the 10th of January 2000, on an unusually warm morning in New York, the United Nations Security Council convened to debate a pertinent security issue described that day by former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Arthur Mbanefo, as on par with the “use of threat or nuclear weaponry”. Since the founding of the Security Council, at the end of the Second World War, issues surrounding violence and armed conflict have dominated the council’s agenda. But with the dawn of a new millennium, emergent forces hitherto relegated to the annals of research in universities and think tanks began to threaten the international order. Especially on the African continent, the global scourge of HIV/AIDS had reached a critical threshold. That day in New York, there was a call to the international community for sweeping action, spearheaded by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who famously designated the millennium year as the “Year for Africa”.

An unprecedented situation, the convention in 2000 represented the first time the Security Council would pronounce a health issue a matter of global security. The former Vice-President of the United States and then President of the Security Council, Al Gore, even stated, “No one could doubt that the havoc wreaked and the toll exacted by HIV/AIDS threatened the world’s security.”

You’ve Reached Your Limit of Free Reading.

The Republic is a Nigerian media-tech company dedicated to explaining our time—through deeply reported journalism on power, culture and society.

Ad-Free Reading Experience

Focused consumption without interruptions.

Unlimited Access to Exclusive Archives

Years of reporting at your fingertips.

In-Depth Deep-dive Reporting

Long-form journalism that matters.

Create a free account to continue reading this month and access more of our work.

About the Author

Obinna Chukwu

is the Sub-Editor, International Affairs at The Republic. He has a Masters degree in International Relations, and is currently a PhD candidate in Politics at Derwent College, the University of York.

Comments

SHOP THE REPUBLIC

Artificial Intelligence, Pseudo-Futurism and the Future of Art

The spatio-historic relevance of an artwork ensures that the original, although replicated a thousand of times, remains the original. AI art is aura-less.

—May 26, 2026

Decolonizing the Machine: Ngũgĩ’s Legacy in the Era of AI Language

Drawing on Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s ideas on linguistic decolonization, Prosper Ishaya warns that the rise of Artificial Intelligence risks deepening linguistic inequality and urges African nations to embed indigenous languages into AI systems to resist digital colonialism.

—May 26, 2026

The Emergence of AI: How Much Progress Is Too Much Progress?

While acknowledging the benefits of Artificial Intelligence, Azubuike Obi calls for responsible use and initiates deeper conversations about its long-term social and educational consequences.

—May 26, 2026

The Silent Loot of Data in Africa

African data is being used to build Meta’s language model and targeted advertising algorithms. Despite this, the systems built with this data neither understand nor represent African values and cultures.

—May 26, 2026

Is Artificial Intelligence the Torchlight We Need in Searching for the African Revolution?

For Africa, if artificial intelligence should not just be a far-fetched dream, then it is necessary that the AI we integrate be free from colonial thinking.

Subscribe to our free newsletter

You're in — welcome to The Republic

Complete your onboarding

Read

Connect

Apps

More

Read

Connect

Apps

More

The Current State of AIDS