The political economy of HIV AIDS in developing countries : TRIPS public health systems and free access The book is based on original data and field studies from Brazil Thailand India and Sub Saharan Africa. Focusing on the issue of universal and free access to treatment (a goal now taken to heart by the international community) it assesses the progress made and presents a rigorous diagnosis of the obstacles that remain especially the constraints imposed by TRIPS and the poor state of most public health systems in Southern countries. In so doing the book renews our understanding of the political economy of HIV AIDS in these vast regions where it continues to spread with devastating social and economic consequences