ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the key challenges faced in HIV and AIDS in 2015. It addresses the issues which include: changing perceptions of HIV and AIDS; issues of prevention and treatment; financing for the response; and the need to understand fundamental drivers of HIV. The chapter describes a brief history of the epidemic. It provides selected data for a sample of the worst affected countries and helps illustrate the issues. AIDS is no longer a discourse-defining health emergency. It is not a global issue. In wealthy countries, and most of Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East, the epidemic is concentrated and stable. The epidemic has been growing and evolving over more than 30 years. The evidence is that, despite the many interventions, the response in parts of Africa and certainly in southern Africa has been insufficient. The consequence of HIV infection is illness and death, unless people receive treatment.
