Peace Studies Department, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK.
Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa.
J Int AIDS Soc. 2010 Dec 3;13:47. doi: 10.1186/1758-2652-13-47.
In the history of public health, HIV/AIDS is unique; it has widespread and long-lasting demographic, social, economic and political impacts. The global response has been unprecedented. AIDS exceptionalism--the idea that the disease requires a response above and beyond "normal" health interventions--began as a Western response to the originally terrifying and lethal nature of the virus. More recently, AIDS exceptionalism came to refer to the disease-specific global response and the resources dedicated to addressing the epidemic. There has been a backlash against this exceptionalism, with critics claiming that HIV/AIDS receives a disproportionate amount of international aid and health funding.This paper situations this debate in historical perspective. By reviewing histories of the disease, policy developments and funding patterns, it charts how the meaning of AIDS exceptionalism has shifted over three decades. It argues that while the connotation of the term has changed, the epidemic has maintained its course, and therefore some of the justifications for exceptionalism remain.
在公共卫生史上,艾滋病毒/艾滋病是独一无二的;它具有广泛而持久的人口、社会、经济和政治影响。全球的应对措施是前所未有的。艾滋病例外主义——即认为该疾病需要采取超出“正常”卫生干预措施的应对措施的观点——最初是西方对病毒最初的可怕和致命性质的反应。最近,艾滋病例外主义开始指的是针对该疾病的全球应对措施以及专门用于解决这一流行病的资源。人们对这种例外主义提出了反对意见,批评者声称艾滋病毒/艾滋病获得了不成比例的国际援助和卫生资金。本文从历史角度来探讨这一争论。通过回顾该疾病的历史、政策发展和资金模式,本文追溯了艾滋病例外主义的含义在过去三十年中是如何变化的。它认为,尽管该术语的内涵发生了变化,但该流行病仍在继续,因此例外主义的一些理由仍然存在。