This course will examine the social, cultural and economic aspects of HIV worldwide. HIV, as a global pandemic, has had a major impact on morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has also had social and economic impacts, and because its major transmission routes include sex and injecting drug use it has immense symbolic power. HIV has engendered unprecedented levels of stigma and discrimination towards groups most affected by the virus and those people living with HIV. The course will also examine the history of the global response to HIV as well as the local responses, with a particular focus on Asia and the Pacific.