African countries have made modest but steady progress in curbing HIV infection since the WHO Regional Office for Africa spearheaded the launch in 2006 of an initiative to accelerate HIV prevention in the Region. The progress report presented by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, to the
58th session of the Regional Committee for Africa in Yaoundé, Cameroon, shows that since the launch 21 African countries have developed roadmaps for acceleration of HIV prevention, 25 have revised national plans into which acceleration of HIV prevention have been strategically integrated, and ten have established HIV prevention committees to improve coordination. Also, 5 countries have organized national forums to discuss the factors driving the HIV epidemic, 6 countries have launched national campaigns to
promote HIV testing and counselling (HTC), and another 6 have taken concrete steps to integrate male circumcision into their HIV prevention priorities. Between 2005 and 2007, the percentage
of districts with at least one facility providing HTC increased from 5% to 60%, the total number of pregnant women accessing PMTCT services increased from 190,000 to over 300,000, and the proportion of patients accessing antiretroviral treatment rose to 35% (which represents a 54% increase in just one year) thanks
to the close collaboration with partners as well as increased availability of financial resources. A markedly apparent increase was recorded in Eastern and Southern Africa.

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