HIV/AIDS: the health development challenge of our times

This presentation, given at the Institute of Development Studies 2005 Alumni Reunion, gives an overview of how the development sector has been involved in the response to HIV and AIDS. The development community, along with government, has been relatively slow to respond to the crisis. The author outlines how public health, development and human rights are three critical factors in a successful response. However, lack of cooperation between development, health and government players, and the growing strength of the fundamentalist faith-based agenda, has meant that the response has largely failed.

The author argues that AIDS has been seen as an emergency or security issue, requiring short-term action which is quickly scaled up. This has complicated the way that AIDS is approached by the development sector. Other problems have included a general lack of attention to HIV prevention needs. The author argues that an overly medical approach has led to the role of community action being underestimated, and stresses the need to learn from local community responses. He also reports on new opportunities to combine prevention and care in ways which engage and empower HIV positive people to lead the response. [adapted from author]