How is prevention important to the fight against HIV/AIDS?
In the absence of a vaccine, preventive measures remain extremely effective and affordable interventions for slowing the pandemic. A successful HIV prevention strategy includes education about transmission, promotion of the benefits of delayed sexual debut, encouragement of having fewer partners, provision of skills to negotiate safer or no sex and promotion of consistent and correct condom use. It also makes HIV/AIDS testing available to those who want it, aims to prevent mother-to-child transmission and seeks to treat infected individuals. Successful prevention efforts involve strong political will to confront the disease and active participation by various sectors of society. In Uganda, programs encourage safer sex behaviors through condom promotion and distribution, radio and TV advertising and peer education. These programs emphasize outreach at the local level and engage all sectors of government and society, including religious leaders and community groups. Uganda now has a high
