Ethical issues and HAART

Ethical concerns have been a prominent feature of the debate about the HIV pandemic. Most ethical issues had already been analyzed by 1996, when HAART became available, but few of those issues have been re-analyzed since then. Also, few of the newer issues raised by HAART itself have been analyzed exhaustively. These issues include concerns about the generation and communication of personal information, rights to, care of people infected with HIV, as well as rights in relation to prevention and vaccine research. The capacity of HAART to prevent infection following a variety of HIV exposures raises concerns about HIV testing and disclosure of personal information. Some issues arise from availability of HAART, whereas others arise from its lack of availability, especially in developing countries. This chapter briefly examines the principle ethical issues that HAART highlights as a basis for encouraging future investigations and discussion.