HIV/AIDS and the Military in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impact on Military Organizational Effectiveness

HIV/AIDS has wreaked havoc on all productive sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, and has emerged as a new threat to military organizational effectiveness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the HIV prevalence rates in several African armed forces are high. Scholars of organization theory have long labored with the question of organizational effectiveness. This paper draws upon the literature in organization theory and organizational effectiveness in exploring the impacts or potential impacts of HIV/AIDS on military organizational effectiveness at the political, strategic, operational, and tactical levels. How can we explain the problem of HIV/AIDS and military effectiveness using organization theory? What are the implications of HIV/AIDS on military organizational effectiveness? Also, this paper examines the challenges of conducting research on HIV/AIDS and the military in sub-Saharan Africa. In a concluding remark, it calls for further research on HIV/AIDS and organizational effectiveness, because, though we have limited data and empirical evidence, we are beginning to understand the far–reaching implications of HIV/AIDS on African institutions.