Who Cares?

At the heart of this wonderful volume are the voices of the carers of people living with HIV, the voices of so many women and girls, but there are also the voices of men: gay men, transsexuals, friends. And woven around their stories are the international instruments within which their rights can be located, the economic analysis of their plight, and the assertions that they too, like all of us, must have the freedom to make choices and the wherewithal, the agency, to live the lives that they have the capabilities to live. This is groundbreaking work. Too long overdue. May it lead to the needed changes, in policies and in the care we give to the carers. -- Dr Elizabeth Reid, carer, development worker, feminist, and Visiting Fellow, Australian National University

At the centre of the HIV/AIDS response are the 12 million people who need care and treatment. Yet their carers are often invisible to the system that relies on them. Focusing on the carer directs assistance where it is most effective and most needed, will respect human rights, and will help achieve the millennium development goals in health.At the centre of the HIV/AIDS response are the 12 million people who need care and treatment. Those who are ill require support from carers who provide physical, social and psychological support. Yet these carers – essential actors in the response – are often invisible to the system that relies on them. The writers argue that focusing on the carer, at the household level, directs assistance where it is most effective and most needed, will respect human rights, and will help achieve the millennium development goals in health.