Programme Group Public Management and Development

One of the most extensive challenges that ordinary South Africans,and more specifically, the South African government is faced with,is to find a way to manage the looming HIV/AIDS disaster that is unfolding in our midst. The successful management of HIV/AIDS requires a holistic and integrated multisectoral approach that in essence is underpinned by disaster management principles. Notwithstanding the multiple and costly efforts from government, the evident rise in the statistics in HIV/AIDS seem to challenge those advocates that want South Africans and the world to believe that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is well under control. However, it deserves to be mentioned that government is indeed involved in various initiatives in an attempt to manage the HIV/AIDS epidemic successfully. In this article it would be argued that the management of HIV/AIDS according to disaster management principles is a possible solution to successfully manage the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The management of HIV/AIDS according to disaster management principles would lead to the suggestion that AIDS is a typical slow-onset disaster. In order for government to effectively manage HIV/AIDS, it would be necessary to adopt an integrated, and multisectoral disaster management approach. In the absence of a medical cure, the management of the HIV/AIDS epidemic according to disaster management principles, is possibly an alternative way to understand and manage the HIV/AIDS epidemic successfully in South Africa. 170 Journal of Public Administration • Vol 36 no 2 • June 200