HIV/AIDS as a non-traditional security threat in China’s marginalised and mobile populations: The shortfalls and challenges

Abstract

HIV/AIDS presents a non-traditional threat to security globally. It has been recognised as such by the UN Security Council and has been the topic of continuing debate within security scholarship. Global best practice in HIV/AIDS epidemics has identified that key populations need to be the focus of HIV/AIDS responses in order to halt the further spread of HIV. This thesis considers three key populations in China, female sex workers, people who inject drugs and floating migrants, due to their high mobility and marginalisation. Their mobility and marginalisation pose significant challenges for HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs. As a result they often suffer from stigmatisation and a lack of human security resulting in sub-optimal outcomes for HIV/AIDS interventions. This insecurity directly contributes to, among other things, high attrition rates in treatment programs; high mobility; stigmatisation; marginalisation; insufficient nourishment (deemed important for sustained ART); lack of shelter; and lack of financial resources necessary to initiate ART. This thesis considers HIV/AIDS in China and whether the shortfalls and challenges in China’s national response to HIV/AIDS may be mitigated by addressing HIV/AIDS as a threat to the human security of people living with HIV/AIDS and the nation-state as a whole. Thus this thesis corroborates and expands upon existing literature supporting human security frameworks in HIV/AIDS epidemics. Additionally, it identifies emerging trends that make it paramount for China to address the existing shortfalls in its HIV/AIDS programming by adopting a human security framework.

Date of Award	10 Jun 2017
Original language	English
Supervisor	Jonathan Ping (Supervisor), Stuart Murray (Supervisor) & Anne Cullen (Supervisor)