Water and sanitation in the context of HIV/AIDS: the right of access in resource-poor countries.

Because the HIV/AIDS epidemic in resource-poor countries is concentrated in the most productive age group, it affects all development sectors and threatens the protection and safeguarding of human rights. While access to safe water and sanitation is a human right, it is particularly important for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS that these rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled. Yet, the impact of the epidemic jeopardizes the ability of the water and sanitation sectors to fulfill these duties. This article reviews the linkages between these sectors and HIV/AIDS from a rights perspective and gives suggestions for strategies to be undertaken by state and non-state actors to promote access to water and sanitation as a right in an HIV/AIDS context.