As yet another World Aids day looms, South Africa presents a grim picture of country succumbing gradually and progressively to the scourge of AIDS.

The depth of human misery is smothered by the ongoing feuds over facts and little of the academic debate changes the impact of AIDS on it growing number of victims.

The latest revelations of the IDASA survey on the impact of AIDS on democracy present a clear picture of the pervasive impact of AIDS on life in South Africa, coupled with the ironic phenomenon of a government that could do far more to change the face of the epidemic, suffering no censure from its electorate.

The greatest weakness in policy remains government's lack of will to enrol all the forces that could combat the epidemic into a united force. The contribution of the Global Fund has not yet flowed significantly into the hands of civil society. Numbers of persons treated for HIV remain frustratingly low. Co operation with drug companies to supply large quantities of cheap medicines is minimal and genuine progress linking traditional healers with conventional doctors to reduce the stigma around AIDS has not occurred.

But the greatest outrage is the lack of government will to acknowledge the extent of the epidemic or to do all in its power to reduce its impact.

Without government, assistance from the United States, the Global Fund, businesses or civil society remains a drop in the ocean. Pressure from the international world on the ANC government is possibly one of the most  unexplored tools that might push the government to confront the epidemic with the seriousness it deserves.