AIDS Imperiling African Armies, Key to Stability of Many Nations

For better or worse, no institution is more central to the stability of African nations than the military, and few institutions in Africa are more threatened by AIDS. At Angola's military base in the capital city of Luanda, AIDS is the leading cause of death, and after the long civil war, the situation will almost certainly worsen.

Africa is figuring in American foreign policy, in terms of economic and military strategy, more than at any time since the end of the cold war. The United States is importing oil from West Africa, to reduce its reliance on the volatile Middle East, and is establishing an antiterrorist center in Djibouti.

AIDS in the military will undermine such efforts, and that helps explain why the Pentagon is spending several million dollars this year to help Angola and 20 other African countries begin dealing with the crisis.

Soldiers, infected on missions in foreign capitals like Kinshasa and Brazzaville, carry HIV to their home villages, passing it to their wives and girlfriends. Prostitutes and truckers spread the virus as they ply their trade in areas that, during Angola's nearly 30-year-long civil war, had long been inaccessible.

An estimated 5.5 percent of Angola's adults are HIV-infected. In Nigeria, at least 6 percent are infected, with the spread fueled by many factors, including its military's emerging role as regional peacemaker. In Ethiopia, where at least 10 percent of adults have HIV, the number of infected persons has been climbing, driven in part by the demobilization of thousands of soldiers. In South Africa, roughly one in four soldiers are infected.

Like other countries, Angola does not know how many soldiers are infected. It is planning a survey with the help of Dr. Eric Bing, a U.S. Defense Department civilian coordinator. Experts say the survey likely will show HIV prevalence higher than 5.5 percent, and likely to increase. This is the military's new war, symbolized by a soldier depicted on a military class manual: his old weapon -- a gun -- in one hand, his new weapon -- a condom -- in the other.

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