Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

HIV causes AIDS.' This much we know. We also know that while the treatment of opportunistic infections associated with HIV infection may serve to delay the inevitable onset of AIDS, but for the intervention of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART),2 HIV infection results in the gradual but inevitable decline and ultimate failure of a body's immune system? In almost all cases, only with antiretroviral interventions are people with HIV/AIDS able to lead longer and healthier lives.

That AIDS has reached pandemic proportions also is beyond dispute. Described by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) as a "global emergency" on account of its sheer scale and impact, AIDS is recognized as a formidable threat to human life, dignity and the enjoyment of fundamental human rights.' In particular, the pandemic is recognized as a threat to social and economic development.' But despite its global nature, not every region is equally threatened by the pandemic's potentially devastating consequences.

Of the estimated 36.1 million people with HIV/AIDS globally,' approximately 25.3 million--or 70 per cent-live in sub-Saharan Africa,' a region with only 10 per cent of the world's total population.9 Not only is sub-Saharan Africa the most adversely affected region, it is arguably also the region least able to deal with the consequences of such an epidemic. In this light, it is not surprisingly that the UNGASS Declaration sees the African epidemic as a "state of emergency", threatening development, political security and the very fabric of society.' " As such, AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is recognized as a threat requiring "urgent and exceptional national, regional and international action."

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