ABSTRACT
Many studies and reports, such as those produced by UNAIDS or the Monitoring
AIDS Pandemic Network (MAP, 2005), provide detailed descriptions and analy-
sis of the individual risk factors associated with HIV/AIDS. These publications
include discussion on the behavior and action of certain high-risk population
groups, such as the frequency of condom use, changes in HIV prevalence among
intravenous drug users (IDUs) and homosexual population groups. It is common
that incidence and prevalence rates among these important risk groups, as well as
some of their behavioral patterns, are monitored in detail. This general approach
to understanding HIV/AIDS, as discussed, focuses much upon the risk factors
that we can say with certainty cause HIV infection and transmission in individu-
als. The broader socioeconomic factors and trends that have also been identified
as placing populations at risk, such as gender inequality, poverty, and income
distribution, levels of education and political representation, are generally not
given nearly as much attention. This is partly because it is harder, if not impossi-
ble, to directly relate these broader human development trends (and their interac-
tion) to overall HIV/AIDS prevalence. Despite these difficulties, as discussed in
the previous chapter, many now believe that there are strong connections and the
particular ‘‘terrain’’ and ‘‘undercurrents’’ within society are also vital in under-
standing epidemics. In keeping with this interest on the population-level determi-
nants of HIV/AIDS epidemics, this chapter considers more broadly the type of
development pattern that China has embarked upon, making comparisons with
other countries. It frames the Chinese HIV/AIDS epidemic in a wider social and
economic context by looking at a range of human development indicators.
