Confronting Africa’s health challenges

Are sick people as big a threat to the stability and security of Sub-Saharan Africa as arms proliferation and civil conflict? Health and disease have emerged as major themes in analyzing the state of politics and security in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. While there appears to be a growing consensus on the importance of health and disease for African politics and security, understandings and interpretations of that importance vary widely. We find ourselves in a situation where most people agree that health matters, but large disagreements exist over how and why it matters. Resolving, or at least understanding, the nature of these differences has important implications for both academic analysis and policymaking.