The Elephant in the Room: Is HIV/AIDS a Present National Security Threat and What Needs to be Done to Combat this Issue?

Abstract

The ripple effect experienced from the continued prevalence of HIV/AIDS in SubSahara African countries is far reaching. The devastation that both the virus and resultant disease has had on the world is not relegated to just the health of African nations, but includes a direct effect on the United States’ national security. That is, “[h]uman behaviour that determines public health security includes decisions and actions taken by individuals at all levels—for example, political leaders, policymakers, military commanders, public health specialists and the general population ....” The U.S. National Intelligence Council has specifically and continuously addressed the concern of deadly infectious disease, including AIDS, by stating that diseases “[threaten American national security because they] endanger US citizens at home and abroad, threaten U.S. armed forces deployed overseas, and exacerbate social and political instability in key countries and regions in which the United States has significant interests ....” The question remains: what is the link between HIV/AIDS and U.S. national security, and what needs to be done to combat this issue? This paper will address how the inadequate surveillance in undeveloped countries, “from a lack of commitment to build effective health systems capable