It meant trusting and empowering communities, especially the most vulnerable, to be part of the solution. Hiding behind the traditional taboos about prostitution, sex before marriage, the use of condoms, homosexuality and injecting drug users will doom millions of people and see the spread of HIV and AIDS accelerate. For our country, success on one front against the virus is just that. The virus now operates increasingly on other fronts. Different groups of people are being affected and our response must adapt, just as honestly as it did before.
Heterosexual transmission is the major challenge worldwide.
It is therefore essential that women's voices are listened to. Women often bear the brunt of the epidemic. In many cases, they become infected due to a lack of access or acceptance of contraception or lack of power to say yes or no to sex. The protection and promotion of women's human rights, including the right to be free from violence and the right to control their own sexuality, is crucial to combating the epidemic. Another vulnerable group is young people, adolescents, who must be equipped with honest information about how they can lower the risk of the virus.