African silence

By 1988, HIV and AIDS have reached epidemic levels in many African countries – but African leaders are scared to admit it, or talk about it for fear of discouraging tourism, as happened in Haiti. In the Congo, President Mobuto silences the press for four years in the country, and in Zimbabwe, doctors are instructed not to list AIDS as cause of death on death certificates. Uganda under Museveni bucks this trend, starting a public awareness campaign that is to be lauded.