The No-Nonsense Guide to HIV/AIDS

Twenty-two million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since AIDS was first discovered – more people than died in Europe during the Black Death of the Middle Ages. And 43 million people are now infected, two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Already across Africa, Asia and Latin America, HIV/AIDS threatens to erode fragile economies and set back development for decades. This may be just the tip of the iceberg – the HIV virus is poised to explode in Asia and the former Soviet Union. Meanwhile, in the West, sophisticated drugs have given people with AIDS new hope. This guide tells the story so far, looking at the origins of the disease, the way it spreads, the profits made by drug companies, the special vulnerability of women and the positive action being taken by people and communities to fight back.