(introduction...)
2 A full review of
interventions against HIV/AIDS is beyond the scope of this document. Readers who
wish to explore these in detail are encouraged to examine the growing literature
on prevention, care and impact mitigation, including Merson et al. (2000),
UNAIDS (2000a), Ainsworth and Teokul (2000), Jha et al. (2000) and Hunter
(2000).
In general, effective responses would address the needs of each
country, taking into account the status of the epidemic, the likely impact of a
range of cost-effective interventions in a given context, as well as the
capacity for large-scale programme planning, funding and implementation. The
range of actions would include the development or strengthening of institutions
for planning and coordination, multisectoral approaches to programme development
and implementation, prevention of new infections, affordable care for persons
living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), social support to mitigate the impact of AIDS on
families and orphans, as well as effective monitoring and evaluation of
programme efforts.
Country teams are likely to be more credible and effective
advocates if their proposals are based on evidence of what works against
HIV/AIDS, with clear outlines of the approaches to be taken in the national
response to the epidemic and its consequences. Although a great deal remains to
be understood about the evolution of the epidemic and its consequences, much has
been learned regarding effective interventions for HIV prevention,
cost-effective care for persons who are already infected, and actions to
mitigate the impact on orphans, families and communities. When the first cases
of AIDS were reported in the early 1980s, individuals and groups acted to alert
people to this dangerous new disease and the steps that could be taken to
protect against it. Even before HIV was isolated, safer sex and safer drug use
guidelines had been developed based upon epidemiological evidence concerning
patterns of transmission. However, providing people with information about how
to protect against infection has proven to be insufficient in and of itself.
People require enabling environments that will reduce their susceptibility and
vulnerability, and allow them to modify their behaviour based on their knowledge
gained through information provision (UNAIDS,
2000a).
