December 1^st marks World AIDS Day, commemorated annually since 1988. Events will take place around the world. The day is seen as one promoting human rights, and the campaign slogan is universal access and human rights. There is a major rights campaign under the banner of Light for Rights. According to the World Health Organization, as of 2009, there were 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.7 million children. In 2009, 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV, and 1.8 million died because of the disease.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the area most affected by the virus. In 2009, it accounted for 67% of the infections worldwide, 68% of new infections among adults, and 91% among children. It also accounted for 72% of the world’s AIDS related deaths. 

Law virtually touches on all things, and it is not surprising that the Yale Law Library’s collection includes numerous books on law as it relates to AIDS. A few recent examples of books especially bearing onAIDS and  human rights are the following:

• Jones, Peris S., AIDS Treatment and Human Rights in Context
• Dwasi, Jane A., The Human Right to Work in the Era of HIV and AIDS
• Engh, Ida-Eline, Developing Capacity to Realise Socio-Economic Rights: The Right to Food in the Context of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and Uganda
• Human Sciences Research Council, Associates for Development, International Center for Research on Women, Women’s Property Rights HIV and AIDS and Domestic Violence: Research Findings From Two Districts in South Africa and Uganda
• Mapetia, Matseliso, Gender, HIV/AIDS, and the Law in Lesotho: Embracing Rights-Based-Approach to Promote Women’s Sexual and ReproductionRights

 There is also a great webpage that can lead you to the HIV/AIDS laws of the world: HIV/AIDS Laws of the World.

                                                                                                         ----- Daniel Wade