In 1990, Namibia gained independence, experiencing a successful transition from authoritarian
to democratic rule. The young democracy is among the countries worst hit by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. The United Nations (UN) recognises that the pandemic challenges both social and
economic development in Namibia. The pandemic constitutes the key obstacle to Namibia
achieving its Millennium Development Goals (RoN, 2004a), which, as such, might undermine the
realisation of Vision 2030, the Namibian long-term development framework (UN, n.d.).
The most relevant demographic statistics and epidemiological data are used to analyse how the
pandemic affects the electoral processes in Namibia. A causality analysis leads into exploring the
effects of the pandemic. The chapter ends with a comprehensive discussion of the multisectoral
response to HIV/AIDS in Namibia.