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Basic facts about HIV and AIDS

Links to pages in this section

What are HIV and AIDS?
Learn the distinction between HIV and AIDS and their most important characteristics. Also find valuable links to more information about these topics on the Internet.

Transmission
There are many approaches for preventing the transmission of HIV. We discuss the best of them.

Prevention
Find out what you can do to prevent infection. This section includes a subsection on condoms.

Treatment
An extensive discussion about HIV/AIDS treatment options

Post exposure prophylaxis
Learn about Post-exposure proophylaxis -- an emergency medical response for individuals exposed to the HIV virus.

Counselling and testing
Common questions about HIV testing and counselling are answered

100 ways to respond to HIV and AIDS
100 ways to respond to HIV and AIDS

Knowledge can be powerful. Because it is committed to a fair, safe and compassionate workplace, the UN system wants us to be fully informed about issues that can affect the workplace, including HIV and AIDS. Our right to understand UN-system policies on HIV/AIDS extends to all employees, including those who are and are not HIV-infected.

The UN-system personnel policy on HIV/AIDS and the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work are the two frameworks available for UN workplace programmes. The ILO Code is the internationally recognized benchmark for HIV-related workplace policies.

We have learned a great deal about HIV/AIDS since the UN system began responding to it in 1987. At that time, many important questions remained unanswered. What were the best means of preventing infection? Could HIV/AIDS ever be treated? How might HIV/AIDS best be handled in the workplace? Today, we have clear answers to these and many other key questions about HIV/AIDS. This Web site provides information on HIV/AIDS that we and our families may need. Specifically, it is designed to help us:

know the essential facts about HIV/AIDS
protect ourselves and our families from HIV infection
live positively with HIV/AIDS
let live by contributing to a tolerant, equitable and compassionate UN-system workplace.