(London, August 09, 2006 in preparation for the XVI International AIDS Conference, Toronto)

Despite significant progress in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the last two decades, it is clear that with 4.9 million people newly infected with HIV in 2005, prevention messages and strategies are not working, or are not being applied effectively.

Rising infection rates, whether in Africa amongst young girls or in Eastern Europe amongst men who have sex with men, are a major concern at a time when prevention messages are increasingly aligned with narrow religious and political agendas, rather than the evidence based strategies that have worked in the past.

A prominent example of this is the ‘ABC’ (abstinence, be faithful, use a condom) prevention strategy; a dominant approach in many countries due largely to the support it receives from the Government of the United States. ‘ABC’ has changed from offering three equal protective options, to a morality hierarchy with an over-emphasis on abstinence and fidelity to the detriment of other prevention options; this is creating gaps in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, nor do they necessarily ensure protection.

Access to treatment and effective prevention messages are two sides of the same coin, and remain the cornerstone of any effective response. Yet the prevention needs of all communities are not being fully met; to do so means finding alternatives to ABC.

At the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, IPPF is hosting a Satellite Session that will make a critical assessment of HIV/AIDS prevention messages, looking at whether some strategies represent a ‘step back’ in relation to the ‘steps forward’ that have been taken in the 25 years of the epidemic.

Revising ABC to meet the demands of today’s epidemic: ‘Two steps forward, one step back’
(Skills Building Room 7, MTCC, Wednesday 16 August 07.00 – 08.30), will place prevention messages in a wider context of a continuum of treatment and care, drawing upon evidence from HIV prevention, care and treatment responses from the sexual and reproductive health community.