HIV/AIDS: a human security challenge for the 21st century

This article explores the human security ramifications of the global AIDS pandemic. It illustrates how HIV/AIDS is a direct threat to the human security of millions of people because of the lethal nature of the illness and the widespread lack of access to anti-retroviral drugs in the developing world. It goes on to show that the AIDS pandemic is 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.