Responding to a Pandemic: International Interests in AIDS Control

The AIDS pandemic is considered an international health problem, which strikes developing and developed countries alike, with regions like Europe, Africa, North America, and South America being greatly affected. It poses a challenge to scientists, politicians, physicians, public health officials, politicians, and others concerned about public welfare. Confronting the AIDS problem requires international cooperation, which has encountered several obstacles: 1) practical issues, 2) diverging national interests, 3) lack of consensus on the nature of the problem, 4) mutual mistrust among nations, and 5) cultural dissonance. These obstacles can be considered complementary ways of conceptualizing and addressing the important issues in global AIDS control. It is noted that international cooperation is usually motivated by the self-interest of the parties involved, hence proper institutional and conceptual bases for addressing the international interests in AIDS control should be established.