The newly launched a quarter for HIV prevention campaign, which calls for investment in effective prevention programmes to be increased to at least 25% of global HIV resources, is gathering momentum.

In order to help harness this momentum, UNAIDS and the World Bank co-organized an event at the 21st International AIDS Conference, being held in Durban, South Africa, with a high-level panel, including UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, ministers of health of South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, leaders of national AIDS programmes and representatives of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and civil society. The event, which took place on 17 July, was moderated by David Wilson, the World Bank’s Global AIDS Programme Director.

Focusing on the challenges and opportunities to scale up HIV prevention programmes, the participants shared ideas and experiences, examining ways to ensure both the availability of sufficient investment and that key populations, women and young people are not left behind. 

The meeting also highlighted the need to address behavioural and structural, in addition to biomedical, factors.

It was argued that only a redoubling of prevention efforts could address the worrying trend of new HIV infections among adults having failed to decline for at least five years, a trend highlighted in the new UNAIDS Prevention gap report. Although great strides have been made in treatment and reductions in mortality, participants agreed that treatment alone cannot bring about the end of the AIDS epidemic.

In helping to chart a concrete way forward, the panellists suggested a series of next steps towards scaling up prevention plans and programmes and making sure that a quarter for HIV prevention becomes a reality.