Pathfinder international is publishing a timely report on “HIV Prevention Among Vulnerable Populations”. The choice of words here and in particular the use of vulnerability rather than group at risk is of importance.
The introduction of the report recalls that “in the first decade of the AIDS epidemic, the term “at risk group” was applied to those social groups in which the first cases of the disease were diagnosed – MSM, SW and IDU.” As a consequence members of these groups where dehumanised, cast out and labelled as a social danger.
Later …

The XVII International AIDS Conference will run from 3 to 8 August 2008 in Mexico City and one can already hear the drums of war beating backstage. As a science editorial puts it, Money matters, and who is going to get it matters even more. Though evidence-based approaches should be favoured, this has not often been the case.
So who should get the dosh?
Children?
Over twenty-five years into the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, the children in its path remain at grave risk. In 2007, it was estimated that 2.1 million …