There is no single right way to prevent HIV. Understanding the full mix of options, what each one is, how it works and what it asks of you, is how you find the method that fits your life and your body.
Today, women and girls in Africa can choose from a growing range of safe, effective HIV prevention methods. Here is what each one is, and where to learn more.
Daily pillA daily pill that helps reduce the risk of acquiring HIV when taken as prescribed. Oral PrEP is one of several HIV prevention options available and can be an effective choice for people at ongoing risk of HIV.
Every 2 monthsA long-acting injectable HIV prevention option administered by a healthcare provider every two months. It offers an alternative for people who prefer not to take a daily pill.
Monthly ringA flexible vaginal ring that is inserted once a month to help reduce the risk of HIV. It provides women with an additional HIV prevention option that can fit different lifestyles and preferences.
Every 6 monthsA long-acting HIV prevention option administered by a healthcare provider every six months. As countries begin introducing lenacapavir, it has the potential to expand HIV prevention choice by offering a longer-acting prevention option for women and girls.
Barrier methodCondoms remain an important HIV prevention option. When used correctly and consistently, they help reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, while also preventing unintended pregnancy.
EmergencyPEP is emergency medication that can help prevent HIV after a possible exposure. It must be started within 72 hours and taken for 28 days, making it important to seek care as soon as possible.
Know your statusKnowing your status is the first step. Routine HIV testing, at a clinic or with a self-test kit, opens the door to prevention if you are negative and to treatment that keeps you well if you are positive.
Treatment is preventionUndetectable = Untransmittable. A person living with HIV who takes treatment as prescribed and reaches an undetectable viral load cannot pass HIV on to sexual partners. Treatment is prevention.
Choice is the ability for individuals to select from an array of options. But choice cannot exist on information alone, it requires policymakers, donors, governments and implementers to make the full mix of prevention options available, accessible and affordable to every woman and girl who needs it.
That is why AWPCAB advocates not just for awareness, but for the systems, funding and accountability that turn options on paper into real choices in clinics and communities.
Misinformation puts people at risk. Here are some of the most common myths about HIV, and what the evidence actually says.
Fact: HIV is a manageable long-term condition. With effective antiretroviral treatment, people living with HIV can stay healthy, live full lives and have a normal life expectancy. Treatment also keeps the virus undetectable, which means it cannot be passed on to partners.
Fact: You cannot tell anyone's HIV status from their appearance. Many people living with HIV look and feel perfectly healthy, especially in the early years or while on treatment. Testing is the only way to know your status or anyone else's.
Fact: PrEP is for anyone who is HIV-negative and wants an extra layer of protection, including women and girls who simply want to take control of their own health. You do not need to justify or label yourself to benefit from prevention.
Fact: Regular testing is still important. PrEP only works while you are HIV-negative, and starting PrEP safely requires confirming your status first. Testing protects you and helps you stay on the right prevention or treatment path.
Fact: HIV is not transmitted through everyday contact, hugging, shaking hands, sharing food or utensils, toilet seats, or insect bites. It is passed through specific routes such as unprotected sex, sharing injecting equipment, and from mother to child during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding (which can be prevented).
Fact: With the right treatment and care during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding (known as PMTCT), the chance of passing HIV to a baby can be reduced to very low levels. Most babies born to mothers on treatment are HIV-negative.
HIV prevention comes with a lot of acronyms. Search the glossary below to make sense of the terms.
Use our practical tools to find a prevention option that fits, and add your voice to the call for choice for every woman and girl in Africa.
