Prevention - Introduction

Lyn's Comment

A very important part of any HIV response is prevention. Although it is extremely important to deal with the effects of the pandemic, it is not enough.

I can illustrate this as follows: Imagine that there are many motor accidents in an area. It is important that the community develops a good emergency respons system, with excellent ambulances, casualty departments, hospitals and rehabilitation systems. This will help deal with the effects of the accidents.

However, this is not enough. The community should also look at how to prevent the accidents from happening. Maybe there are dangerous road conditions, maybe not enough warning signs. Maybe there are many un-roadworthy vehicles in the areas, or maybe the drivers in the area drive too fast for the conditions, or do not have good driving skills.

If our community really wants to make a difference, they will also have to address some of the causes of all the accidents.

If faith communities only respond to the effect of the pandemic, it would be like a community that provide good ambulances for accident victims, but take no measure to prevent accidents.

We often speak about the complexity of factors related to HIV.

A good 'mindmap' on the issues related to prevention and the possible types of prevention activities can be found on the website of the British Columbia People with AIDS Society.

Discussions around prevention often get stuck in arguments about A and B and/or C and might miss out on some of the complexity. Years ago, in one of these discussions, Lyn started jotting down some ideas on looking at prevention from a wider perspective, and the Prevention Alphabet was born. This is a work in progress - your ideas will be welcome. Email Lyn.

ANARELA+ developed the SAVE Model – a more comprehensive way of looking at HIV.  You can read more here.

A Good online resource source is the NAM website.