The annual reports of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) indicate little progress in the struggle against the epidemic: the numbers continue to increase – the latest report states that 38.6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. And the worst seems yet to come: the epidemic occurs in waves, and many people who are still asymptomatic will be affected in the future. We have known for a long time what causes HIV infection, but we are only now starting to understand what fuels the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The most characteristic change in addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis was the view that to achieve positive results and address the root causes, a human rights based approach was needed. The paper demonstrates that the HIV/AIDS epidemic primarily creates difficulties in economic and physical access to food or the means of procuring it. Economic access implies that the financial costs of food procurement do not threaten the attainment of other basic rights such as the right to health. This is particularly relevant in the context of HIV/AIDS, because people become involved in high-risk responses and may trade their rights to health and food. Accessibility encompasses economic and physical accessibility for all, including “[…] physically disabled, the terminally ill and persons with persistent medical problems...