Living with HIV and dying with AIDS: Diversity, inequality and human rights in the global pandemic

摘要

Living with HIV and dying with AIDS is written by two authors with strong global health research backgrounds, especially in the political economy of health. This broad examination of diversity (of both life and death), inequality and human rights in the HIV/AIDS pandemic faces a difficult challenge. It shares ground with numerous other books that have appeared over the last 20 years - and continue to be published regularly each year - that seek to extend our understanding and informed response to one of the most impactful diseases in human history, and certainly the most devastating global threat to health in recent human experience. In a lucid and engaging style, all of what the Doyals have to say about HIV/ADDS is spot on. Little of their discussion, however, is new, especially if you are familiar with the relevant literature. This raises a number of questions. Do we need to be reminded that inequality is the critical issue in the social distribution of HIV infection, AIDS-related personal and social suffering, access to care, and patterns of mortality? Absolutely! And the Doyals do an excellent job of tracing the role of structural violence across the global geography of HIV/AIDS and bringing the complexities of the pandemic to life. Is it important to continue to explore the range of personal experiences and daily struggles of people living with the disease?