HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS AND ACQUIREDIMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME AS HUMAN GLOBAL SECURITY CHALLENGE IN THE 21 ST CENTURY

Abstract

In this article, we explore the human security ramifications of the global AIDS pandemic. We illustrate how HIV/AIDS is a threat to the human insecurity of millions of people because ofthe lethal nature of the illness and the widespread lack of access to anti-retroviral drugs in the developing world. The article show that the AIDS pandemic also poses a profound indirect threat to human security because of the wider social consequences the pandemic is having in the most affected regions. HIV/AIDS is therefore not just one human security issue amongst many, but constitutes one of the most urgent human security challenges in the twenty-first century. The article concludes by outlining the implications of the HIV/AIDS pandemic for debates about the utility of the ‘human security’ concept.