The issue of universal and free access to treatment is now a fundamental goal of the international community. Based on original data and field studies from Brazil, Thailand, India and Sub-Saharan Africa under the aegis of ANRS (the French nationalagency for research on Aids and viral hepatitis, this timely and significant book both assesses the progress made in achieving this objective and presents a rigorous diagnosis of the obstacles that remain. Placing particular emphasis on the constraints imposed by TRIPS as well as the poor state of most public health systems in Southern countries, the contributing authors provide a comprehensive analysis of the huge barriers that have yet to be overcome in order to attain free access to care and offer innovative suggestions of how they might be confronted. In doing this, the book renews our understanding of the political economy of HIV/AIDS in these vast regions, where the disease continues to spread with devastating social and economic consequences.

This volume will be a valuable addition to the current literature on HIV/AIDS in developing countries and will find widespread appeal amongst students and academics studying economics, sociology and public health. It will also be of interest to international organizations and professional associations involved in the fight against pandemics.