Prevention and health promotion

Prevention still plays a central role in order to impede HIV/AIDS even today because it is a way of avoiding infection, disease, early death and serious social and economic problems. New estimates have shown that of the 45 million new cases of infection that will be reported up to 2015, 29 million could be avoided through adequate preventive measures (UNAIDS/WHO).

There is not one single successful approach to prevention - success is achieved through a combination of preventive strategies: programmes to modify behaviour, especially the use of condoms; reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing the age at which the first sexual contact occurs; treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; voluntary counselling and testing; prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child; safe stored blood products; controlling infections in health centres, etc. It is also important for politicians to realize the need for prevention and support it. Active participation by the communes and local organisations and people affected by HIV/AIDS also plays a major role in ensuring the success of prevention efforts. Even today, it is still necessary in many places to raise awareness of the problem among the population and politicians and to educate them; at the same time false rumours and discrimination need to be countered.

If the epidemic is to be beaten, three areas need to be tackled simultaneously: prevention, treatment and reduction of the social impact. Particular attention needs to be paid to "vulnerable" groups in the population, i.e. people whose possibilities for self-determination are limited and who are at greater risk of contracting HIV infection: women, children, adolescents, sex workers, drug addicts, migrants, etc.