HIV/AIDS in Tanzania: Ethical and Legal Dilemmas

Abstract

In this study, we discuss two categories of ethical and legal questions that the National HIV/AIDS Policy has left unresolved.  Whereas the first category includes those ethical and legal dilemmas which contain a resource allocation dimension, the second one, involves those which deal with conflicting claims and rights.  Unresolved issues within the first group include the resource distribution difficulties between the competing demands of prevention amongst those who are not yet infected and the medical treatment and support for those already infected or impacted by HIV.  Related to the first category is the ethical appropriateness of the donor communities dictating policies and priorities for the funds they give.  The ethical and legal dilemmas that emerge in the second group include the important problem of balancing individual and collective rights (most specifically between ones right to privacy and the public health imperative to control the spread of the disease).  We argue that if these ethical and legal dilemmas are not resolved it would be very difficult to win a war against HIV/AIDS in Tanzania.