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Abstract
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Over the past two decades, scientific research has identified a range of effective strategies for preventing all routes of hiv transmission—sexual, blood borne, and mother-to-child.

However, fewer than one in five people at high risk for

hiv currently have access to effective prevention.1 According to an analysis by unaids and the World Health Organization, expanded access to proven prevention strategies could avert half of the 62 million new hiv infections projected to occur between 2005 and 2015.2 Another analysis found that in sub-Saharan Africa alone, expanded prevention could avert 55% of the 53 million new infections projected to occur in the region between 2003 and 2020.3

There is no single solution—no “magic bullet”—to prevent hiv. The most effective prevention programs are those that use a combination of strategies to achieve maximum impact.4 Following are descriptions of the major strategies that, when used in combination, are effective for preventing sexual, blood borne, and mother-to-child hiv transmission.