A 4-D Model for Emergency Relief: Toward Understanding the Systemic Implications of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa & the Challenges of Aid Delivery

The challenge of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa must be weighed against the backdrop of systemic tensions exacerbated by the current crisis. Viewed within the confines of a matrix whereby the state begins to fail thus pushing the system from the top-down, epidemics such as HIV/ AIDS applying an opposing force from the bottom-up, and non-state actors pushing laterally at the core of the system, today’s relief agency’s only recourse is to also push back laterally against this core. They must do so in order to affect systemic equilibrium for their intended recipients of aid. Seen in this conditional matrix housing four opposing systemic forces, relief agencies now face dramatic system challenges calling into question the very nature of their mission and roles in humanitarian intervention. Against this four-dimensional matrix, the author explores the specific challenges of getting aid delivery to those afflicted with HIV/AIDS and questions its place within the realm of complex emergencies.