Our research investigates how drug development, and access to treatment, has unfolded throughout HIV/AIDS pandemic and consider how present day complex human emergencies challenge the ability of the current retroviral treatment to be applied effectively. Initially, we discuss how the advent of infections in New York and California in 1981 baffled scientists and how the understanding of HIV/AIDS began to unfold. The evolution of new drug treatments and medical research faced constant criticism and controversy, as demands for treatment increased pressure on the medical field. After 40 years of research and development, there exists an infrastructure to educate and administer treatment to those with HIV in developed countries such as the United State, but what about HIV positive individuals who live in areas of complex human emergencies? Complex human emergencies present a serious challenge to local efforts of treating HIV, as well as the global movement to administer the new highly effective antiretroviral therapies (ART). The research focuses on the ability of local and global governments to address the challenges of treating the HIV pandemic in areas of military conflict (Ukraine), destabilized government (Afghanistan), and places recovering from natural disasters (Haiti). Each of these situations carries their own social, cultural, and political challenges to administering the available lifesaving aid, such as widespread drug use, gender/sexual violence, and patriarchal social structures. By understanding the tumultuous path to drug development, and the even more complex issues of global access, we can find a clearer blueprint towards addressing the HIV pandemic.