The elation that greeted the discovery of vaccines against COVID-19 in 2020 recalls the hope unleashed in the early 2000s when antiretrovirals (ARVs) became available worldwide at affordable prices. Neither of these two notable scientific breakthroughs is a silver bullet against the two viruses (HIV and SARS-CoV-2) but both help prevent death and disease.

ARV treatment was a game changer. By 2015, the global mass cascading of ART allowed the United Nations to commit to ambitious targets.

There is no time to lose if the region is to meet the 2025 targets for HIV prevention. With this goal, UNFPA has collected examples of successful interventions for HIV prevention in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Uganda. Each section ends with a selection of evidence-based priority actions from the UNFPA East and Southern Africa Strategy to End HIV.