AIDS a military threat - army official

The HIV/AIDS pandemic could provoke civil wars and wars between states in Africa, an army general has said. Major-general Bakwena Oitsile from Botswana warned while addressing Africa's first military AIDS conference, held recently in the capital, Gaborone, that the political structures to ensure democratic governance could be threatened by the continent's high infection rate. News agency Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted Oitsile as saying: "If security forces become weaker due to ill health, the countries' constitutions could easily be challenged." Research shows that HIV/AIDS is already responsible for up to 60 percent of deaths among military personnel in the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) alone. "The HIV/AIDS pandemic has gone beyond the purview of the health sector. It requires mobilisation of resources and human capacity in all sectors, including the military," Oitsile added.