ABSTRACT
This chapter challenges the orthodox view through a systematic examination of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) policies. In 1987, the Medical Research Council (MRC) established an AIDS research unit, which soon noted a 'disquieting increase' in heterosexual transmission, though most cases were in the black community. MRC-funded scientists developed a system designed to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission to infants by heating infected mothers' breast milk to kill HIV. The Mandela government's shift to neoliberalism paradoxically coincided with a shift in the nature of international assistance in the fight against AIDS. Once the South African state was no longer tainted by apartheid, foreign donors increasingly switched support from NGOs to the state, The Mbeki government's seemingly baffling AIDS policies reflect much larger contradictions inside the post-apartheid regime. Despite his administration's public commitment to democracy, transparency, and accountability, behind the scenes the government has become entangled in a close if sometimes strained alliance with big business advocates of neoliberal economic policies.
