Thabo Mbeki's "misguided" (gees, what a euphemism - 'murderous' might be more suitable) policy that HIV was not responsible for AIDS has resulted in an unprecedented public-health disaster: 330,000 South African people died prematurely during 2000-2005 because of the unavailability of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.
Read the report by Harvard researchers for yourself. They also estimated that over 3.8 million person-years were lost during this period.
And don't forget the 35,000 infants who were born with HIV because their pregnant mothers could not get ARV drugs.
Mbeki's likely sucessor as President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, is the guy who thought taking a shower after unprotected sex would protect him from contracting AIDS.
But at least Mbeki's leadership has been evident during the "troubles" in Zimbabwe.
Where are you, Nelson Mandela?
"There is no crisis in Zimbabwe." -- President Thabo Mbeki, April 2008, after the 2008 election in Zimbabwe
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