ABSTRACT
For a person in a first-world country to be diagnosed as HIV positive is a staggering blow. It would affect all their future relationships, family life and career prospects, to say nothing of their physical and psychological health and financial status. But, in most cases, such a person could still plan for the future and continue with many of their former activities. All of that, of course, is attributed to the availability of medical treatment, especially ARVs, and counselling. The picture, however, is completely different for most third-world people so afflicted. Indeed, the impact of HIV/AIDS in the first and third worlds is so different that they could almost be regarded as different diseases. A study of Table 5.1 reflects the wide differences in occurrence between the first world, where the figures are described in thousands, and the third world, where we are dealing with millions. The data is as of August 2004 (Lovich, 2004).
