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Mantel, B. (September 2012). Conquering AIDS. CQ Global Researcher 6(18), 425–448.

conquering_AIDS_Chernotsky2e_CH11.pdf

This article discusses the current trends in prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS worldwide. First, it presents some statistics about HIV/AIDS transmission and numbers of people living with and dying from AIDS, as well as provides an overview of international spending on the fight against AIDS. Next, this article digs deeper on several debates ongoing at the international level, including if doubling the number of people receiving treatment is possible, whether or not HIV-negative individuals should receive drug therapy to prevent infection, and if pharmaceutical companies are keeping drug prices too high. Next, this article traces the history of the virus as it jumped from chimpanzees to humans, mutated, and spread across Africa and the world. It also provides background information on its transmission in homosexual and heterosexual populations, as well as the current environment of treatment and funding. Lastly, this article focuses on current efforts to combat transmission, such as voluntary circumcision and prevention of mother-to-child transmission, as well as to reach more people, most notably women.

1. How much money does the international community commit to fighting AIDS every year? How many people does this money reach? How much more money is needed to reach the remainder of people living with AIDS?
2. What are some ways that countries, both developing and developed, can raise additional money to commit to the fight against AIDS?
3. What is PrEP? What are some of the arguments for and against its use?
4. How may free trade agreements positively or negatively affect the availability of affordable medication to treat AIDS?
5. What are the three current issues in AIDS prevention and treatment?

Learning Objectives: To understand how the international community funds prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. To understand the barriers to prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

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Jost, K. (October 2009). Human Rights Issues. CQ Researcher 19(38), 909–932.

human_rights_issues_Chernotsky2e_CH11.pdf

This article focuses on human rights policies under President Obama. In introduces the topic by outlining some of the praise for and criticisms against Obama’s human rights policies since he has been in office. This article then illuminates three major questions that are currently being debated: if the Obama administration is deemphasizing human rights in US foreign policy, if the Obama administration is reducing US support for democratization in other countries, and whether or not President Obama was right to have the United States join the United Nations Human Rights Council. Next, it discusses the history of human rights both as it developed in the United States and abroad as a policy topic, human rights commitments made by the United States throughout the twentieth century, and support for and criticisms against former President Bush’s human rights policies. Lastly, this article touches upon some current situations in US support for human rights, including policies affecting Sudan, Guinea, and Syria, and the status of human rights treaties in the United States.

1. Is global freedom increasing or decreasing? What are some of the developments influencing this increase or decrease? Where in the world are “not free” countries concentrated?
2. What does the Obama administration appear to be basing its human rights policies on? Do human rights experts think this approach is effective? Why or why not?
3. What is the freedom of expression resolution? What does it signal about US human rights policy?
4. Which two human rights treaties are pending ratification by the United States? Why do social conservatives in the United States oppose these treaties?

Learning Objective: To understand and assess the Obama administration’s policies on human rights.