Millions of lives are saved each year through blood transfusions. Various shortcomings, though, in the way blood is collected, tested (or not tested) for infections such as HIV, and transfused, mean that people in many countries have an increased risk of becoming infected with HIV andother diseases through transfusions. It is estimated that between 5% and 10% of all HIV infections worldwide have been acquired through transfusion of contaminated blood and blood products. If the proper steps are taken, such infections can be easily prevented.

Since 1985, HIV testing has been essential in securing the safety of blood supplies, monitoring the progress of the epidemic and diagnosing individuals infected with the virus. Various assays are now available, allowing testing strategies to be tailored to the epidemiological conditions and budgets of national health systems. New techniques including simple tests giving instant results hold great promise, but also raise some serious issues for governments and for individuals.

This document reviews current scientific knowledge about breast-milk transmission of HIV, and serves as the foundation for two complementary documents:

Businesses worldwide are increasingly recognizing that HIV/AIDS can affect productivity and profitability. In fact, South Africa estimates that, if the current trend continues, the epidemic will cost the country 1% of GDP each year by the year 2005. A growing number of companies, in countries such as Brazil and South Africa, have formed business coalitions to help each other deal with the crises in their workplaces and communities. Businesses face enormous challenges in responding to HIV/AIDS. This technical update discusses these challenges, which include obtaining and sustaining management commitment, and supporting staff with HIV/AIDS. It also documents the necessary steps for an effective HIV/AIDS workplace programme, and provides successful examples of such initiatives, such as the Botswana Meat Commission’s HIV/AIDS programme.

This publication is of the four case studies of Australia, Canada, Thailand and Uganda, which were presented at an official satellite symposium of the XIth International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver in 1996.

This report will discuss what makes women, babies and young people specially vulnerable to HIV, and describe the strategies that have been developed to meet their needs, the work going on at present, and the future challenges. And drawing lessons from experience and examples from the field, it will identify successful approaches to HIV prevention.

Sex between men occurs virtually in most societies. It is often stigmatized by society, and its public visibility, therefore, varies considerably from one country to another. Sex between men often involves anal intercourse, which carries a high risk of HIV transmission. Good HIV programmes addressing men who have sex with men (MSM) are thus vitally important, though up to now they have often been seriously neglected.

This review examines research on gender as it relates to women’s and men’s different vulnerabilities to HIV infection, and their different abilities to access resources for care and support in order to cope with the impact of the epidemic. The paper also reviews programmatic responses that have sought to address gender-specific concerns and constraints in an attempt to contain the pandemic and alleviate its impact.

A meeting was organized jointly by UNAIDS

This document is intended to provide a clear understanding of social marketing, its key components and the role social marketing can and continues to play in preventing and slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS.