From the study’s abstract:

Using modeling, we compared the number of persons who received ARVs for treatment and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission between 2000 and 2005 with an alternative of what was reasonably feasible in the country during that period. More than 330,000 lives or approximately 2.2 million person-years were lost because a feasible and timely ARV treatment program was not implemented in South Africa. Thirty-five thousand babies were born with HIV, resulting in 1.6 million person-years lost by not implementing a mother-to-child transmission prophylaxis program using nevirapine. The total lost benefits of ARVs are at least 3.8 million person-years for the period 2000–2005.

The Times article goes on to detail Mbeki’s personal responsibility for South Africa’s AIDS policies in the early 2000s. The evidence the Times presents suggests rather strongly that Mbeki’s ego, as well as a perception that Western scientists’ views were tainted by racist views of Africans, were primary reasons for the delayed response.

The disaster of South’s Africa’s response to the AIDS epidemic is a tragic example of what happens when politicians ignore scientific advice they don’t like. Here’s hoping that the world stops making the same mistake when it comes to climate science.