This section will review advances made in our understanding of circumcision, microbicides, prophylaxis, and vaccines. By far, the biggest prevention news of 2007 was the potential of circumcision to limit new infections.

NAM's publication, Preventing HIV  provides up-to-date, evidence-based information on preventing HIV infection through safer sex, behaviour change, using antiretroviral drugs, and use of HIV testing. Consequently, those topics will not be covered in this section.

In addition to the practises and research covered in this section, for prevention efforts to be successful, they need to be supported by structured societal change. Public education programs, testing and counselling services, condom promotion (especially for sex workers), and needle exchange programs are part of any comprehensive HIV prevention program.

At a plenary session on prevention technologies at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto in 2006, speaker Gita Ramjet of the South African Medical Research Council commented on the need to move beyond the ABCs of prevention and added her suggestions to the ever-progressing alphabetic list of preventive measures. These include the following strategies.

• A is for abstaining from sexual intercourse outside of marriage.
• B is for being sexually faithful and using barrier methods.
• C is for consistent and correct condom use, and now for circumcision also.
• D is for delay of sexual debut and also for diaphragm use.
• E is for HIV education and also for exposure prophylaxis (pre and post).
• F is for forgoing needle-sharing and female-controlled microbicides.
• G is for getting tested as well as keeping genital tract infections under control.
• H is for herpes simplex virus suppression.
• I is for immunisations and immunity by vaccines.