ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the political efforts of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-focused nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Zimbabwe. The NGO community in Zimbabwe consists of a wide spectrum of groups with varying resources, objectives, and domestic and international ties. The chapter focuses mainly on indigenous organizations whose primary objective is responding to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS. It shows that AIDS NGOs continue to operate against a backdrop of state intimidation and a legacy of denial, which combine to curb their political clout. By highlighting how politics has impacted responses to AIDS in Zimbabwe, the chapter makes evident that the relationship between AIDS-focused NGOs and governments in Africa is a topic ripe for greater scrutiny by political science, and to encourage future work on the subject. Robert Mugabe's government has increasingly sought to stifle NGOs since 1995, when it passed the Private Voluntary Organizations Act.
