Aids
...Transmission through blood
Mother-to-child transmission
Wherever there is HIV, all three routes of transmission will take place. However the number of infections resulting from each route will vary greatly between countries and population groups.
To be successful, an HIV prevention programme must make use of all approaches known to be effective.
For each route of transmission there are things that an individual can do to reduce or eliminate risk. There are also interventions that have been proven to work at the community, local and national level.
To be successful, an HIV prevention programme must make use of all approaches known to be effective, rather than just implementing one or a few select actions in isolation. The share of resources allocated to each area should reflect the nature of the local epidemic - for example, if most infections occur among men who have sex with men then this group should be a primary target for prevention efforts.
Although most of this page looks separately at each transmission route, it should be remembered that many people don’t fit into only one “risk category”. For example, injecting drug users need access to condoms and safer sex counselling as well as help to reduce the risk of transmission through blood.
First requirements
There are three key things that can be done to help prevent all forms of HIV transmission.
First among these is promoting widespread awareness of HIV and how it can be spread. Media campaigns and education in schools are among the best ways to do this.
Another essential part of a prevention programme is HIV counselling and testing. People living with HIV are less likely to transmit the virus to others if they know they are infected and if they have received counselling about safer behaviour. In particular, a pregnant woman who has HIV will not be able to benefit from...
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