Tells the story so far, looking at the origins of the desease, the way it spreads, and examining the profits made by drug companies, women's special vulnerability, and the positive action being taken by people and communities to fight back. [back cover].

Water sustains life: without it, humans cannot survive for more than a few days. And yet this precious fluid is becoming increasingly politicized as the debates about control and ownership of water itself, and of the many organizations which govern its use, gain force. Maggie Black explores the many roles water plays in human life and, as the defense of water rights looks set to become an explosive issue, provides a clear overview on the vital issues of distribution, technology, irrigation, land use and commodification.

The power and influence of the mass media grows daily, crucially affecting the way all of us see and understand each other. The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Media introduces readers to the political economy of the major mediafilm, television, radio, recording, publishing and the Internet. Peter Steven looks at the ever greater concentration of ownership and at the convergence of technologies and media functions. At the same time, he emphasizes the diversity of local media production and media around the world. The media is more than the economics of ownership and the technology of production, he stresses; it is also audiences, in all their annoying and wonderful diversity.

At the turn of the new millennium, the United Nations determined that world poverty would be halved by 2015. International agencies are all committed to "poverty abatement." The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have renamed their structural adjustment policies "poverty reduction strategies." But can this work? No, argues Jeremy Seabrook, not if we fail to understand the meaning of poverty. Drawing on testimonies from around the world, as well as on the hard facts, he challenges the assumption that wealth overcomes poverty, and demonstrates that the opposite of "poor" is not "rich" but "self-reliant." Appealing passionately for a shared sense of "sufficiency," he gives verbal snapshots of people's lives to show how poverty shifts, changes and endures in response to the growth of wealth.

How much has life really changed for women during the last decade? Has the womens movement affected women all over the world? Has it changed womens relationships with men? Nikki van der Gaag answers these questions with hard, sometimes disturbing, evidence. Many women have made huge leaps forwardin legal rights, political representation, employment, education, healthbut beneath the surface the statistics are shocking. Vivid testimonies from women and men around the world explain why, especially in this post-feminist age, womens rights are still very much an issue for men and women alike. "She has made a special effort to correct many of the misconceptions and biases related to the feminist movement, to link the liberation of women who constitute half of society to the liberation of men and to the dispossessed majority living on earth." from the introduction by Nawal El Saadawi

“Overseas aid” and “international development” are catch-all terms that cover a multitude of activities—and abuses. This guide explains what “development” actually is—and explores its political and economic roots. It shows what can happen in the name of development and argues for a more organic, social approach with those it seeks to serve as equal partners in the process. Maggie Black has written books for the Oxford University Press, UNICEF, and Oxfam. She has worked as a consultant for UNICEF, Anti-Slavery International, and WaterAid, among others, and has written for the Guardian, The Economist, and BBC World Service.

The treatment of sexual minorities—whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender—varies significantly in different parts of the world. In some countries, equal rights have been achieved and progress is being made against discrimination; in others, being gay still incurs the death penalty. This guide examines all the colors of the sexual rainbow, unearths hidden histories, and looks at contributions from medicine and science. It also includes a unique global survey of laws that affect sexual minorities. Vanessa Baird has been co-editor at New Internationalist magazine since 1986. Her previous books include, as compiler and editor, Eye to Eye Women.

Ball and Gready review the development of today's assumptions about human rights and introduce readers to alternative models from history and from today's human rights debate. From the material rights of citizenship to the more abstract rights of the imagination, the authors present a clear overview of today's human rights debate and prompt discussion about alternative models for the future. Splendid series of pocketable guides to issue politics...rigorously clear.' - The Guardian'