Access to Life-Saving Public Health Goods by Persons Infected with or Affected by HIV

Assuring equitable access to life-saving public health commodities (including AIDS medications and optimal nutrition) remains a challenge globally. This chapter examines medical but also cultural constructions of access and the evolving discourses on access to life-saving AIDS medications. It traces the discourses from the era of frank absence to AIDS medications, to rationing of same, and to the current era of “test and treat.” Drawing on extant texts on access in general and access to AIDS medications in particular, the chapter identifies gaps in the current notion of access. The chapter argues that the current global aspirational goal of “treat all”/“test and treat” requires a nuanced understanding of the multiple notions of access and their variegated political economies.