The Global HIV Prevention Working Group, an international panel of 50 leading AIDS experts, said many effective HIV prevention steps are not having anything like the impact they could because they are often not available to those at the greatest risk of infection.

In a “report card” published at an international AIDS conference in Vienna on national efforts to try to prevent new infections with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, the group found most regions could do a lot better.

“On average the grades that were assigned by the working group ranged from average to poor, with some failing grades for some of the key indicators,” Helene Gayle, co-chair of the Working Group and chief executive of CARE USA, told reporters.

“Our overall finding is not that prevention is failing, but that we are failing prevention.”

The AIDS virus infects 33.4 million people around the world and has killed 25 million since the pandemic began in the 1980s. There is no cure and no vaccine but drugs can keep patients healthy. Without treatment, the virus destroys the immune system, leaving patients susceptible to infections and cancer.

Scientists and AIDS experts repeatedly say that the world cannot “treat its way out” of the AIDS epidemic.

How to Reduce Your HIV and AIDS risk
What is HIV?
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the body’s immune system. A healthy immune system is what keeps you from getting sick.

Because HIV damages your immune system, you are more likely to get sick from bacteria and viruses. It is also harder for your body to fight off these infections when you do get them, so you may have trouble getting better. HIV is the condition that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
_______________________

What is AIDS?
AIDS is a progression of HIV. When HIV moves into its final stages, it is considered to be AIDS. People who have AIDS are at an even higher risk of getting sick, and their bodies are even less able to fight off infections than people who have HIV. They usually die of an infection or cancer.
_______________________

How do people get HIV?
HIV can only be passed from person to person through body fluids, such as blood, semen and vaginal fluid. The most common ways HIV is passed are:
•By having unprotected anal, vaginal or oral sex with an infected person.
•By sharing needles and syringes for injecting drugs with an infected person.
You may be at risk of getting HIV if you have any of the risk factors listed in the box below. Children born to infected mothers can also become infected during pregnancy.