| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Three decades since the initial diagnosis, AIDS remains one of the most complex health challenges, a signature disease of the present age (Robbins, 2005). It began as an epidemic. However, by 2000, AIDS had reached all corners of the world and had been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS], 2006b). It is estimated that 33.3 million individuals around the world are currently living with the virus, the majority of whom scholars predict will prematurely die from AIDS-related conditions (Bongaarts, Pelletier, & Gerland, 2009). Since the beginning of the epidemic, it is estimated that more than 60 million people around the world have been infected with the virus and nearly 30 million have died from the disease (WHO, 2011a). This puts AIDS at the top of the list of the most destructive pandemics in the history of mankind. Despite efforts to curb the spread of the disease, the infection rate around the world continues to rise. In 2009 there were 2.6 million newly infected cases worldwide. AIDS does not discriminate against geographical space, social class, gender, or age. However, as is the pattern for all