Essential programmatic actions for HIV prevention

• Prevent the sexual transmission of HIV.
• Prevent mother-to child transmission of HIV.
• Prevent the transmission of HIV through injecting drug use, including harm-reduction measures.
• Ensure the safety of the blood supply.
• Prevent HIV transmission in healthcare settings.
• Promote greater access to voluntary HIV counselling and testing while promoting principles of confidentiality and consent.
• Integrate HIV prevention into AIDS treatment services.
• Focus on HIV prevention among young people.
• Provide HIV-related information and education to enable individuals to protect themselves from infection.
• Confront and mitigate HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
• Prepare for access and use of vaccines and microbicides.

Essential policy actions for HIV prevention

• Ensure that human rights are promoted, protected and respected and that measures are taken to eliminate discrimination and combat stigma.
• Build and maintain leadership from all sections of society, including governments, affected communities, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, the education sector, media, the private sector and trade unions.
• Involve people living with HIV, in the design, implementation and evaluation of prevention strategies, addressing the distinct prevention needs.
• Address cultural norms and beliefs, recognizing both the key role they may play in supporting prevention efforts and the potential they have to fuel HIV transmission.
• Promote gender equality and address gender norms and relations to reduce the vulnerability of women and girls, involving men and boys in this effort.
• Promote widespread knowledge and awareness of how HIV is transmitted and how infection can be averted.
• Promote the links between HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health.
• Support the mobilization of community-based responses throughout the continuum of prevention, care and treatment.
• Promote programmes targeted at HIV prevention needs of key affected groups and populations.
• Mobilizing and strengthening financial, and human and institutional capacity across all sectors, particularly in health and education.
• Review and reform legal frameworks to remove barriers to effective, evidence based HIV prevention, combat stigma and discrimination and protect the rights of people living with HIV or vulnerable or at risk to HIV.
• Ensure that sufficient investments are made in the research and development of, and advocacy for, new prevention technologies.

Source : AIDS epidemic update December 2005, UNAIDS/05.19E - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and World Health Organization (WHO) 2005

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