Making accountability work for the AIDS response

Though ‘democratic AIDS governance’ has become the norm for the political governance of the AIDS response, it presents a dilemma that is likely to undermine the effectiveness and political sustainability of the response. By showing the kind of political leadership that would strengthen the HIV prevention agenda in Eastern and Southern Africa, elected politicians become vulnerable to the political populism that feeds on discrimination and denial in society, to the detriment of the AIDS response. We need to better understand how this governance dilemma plays out in different contexts and develop ideas for how to structure political incentives so that championing AIDS becomes a sustainable strategy to win and uphold political power.