INERELA+ promotes the ‘SAVE’ approach to HIV, a response that was originally formulated by the leaders of the African Network (ANERELA+) as a reaction to the shortcomings of the existing method know as ‘ABC.’ Long used as the foundation of comprehensive HIV prevention programmes around the world, ABC stands for ‘Abstinence; Be faithful; use Condoms.’ Unfortunately, the way in which it has been presented to far too many in the past is more like: ‘Abstain. If you can’t abstain, be faithful. And if you can’t be faithful, use a condom’. The implication that the use of a condom automatically marks a person as unable to be faithful fuels stigma and acts as a disincentive to evidence-based prevention. Furthermore, ABC fails to consider a person’s HIV status. While abstinence may be appropriate at some stages of life, at others – within a faithful marriage, for instance – it is not; and yet an HIV-negative person whose spouse is positive is at risk even within a faithful marriage. The ABC doctrine is:

It ignores the role of HIV counselling, testing and treatment in prevention, and fails to highlight other possible means of HIV prevention, like safe blood transfusion, safe injections, safe circumcision, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

The SAVE approach provides a more holistic way of preventing HIV by incorporating the principles of the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use) as well as providing additional information about HIV transmission and prevention, providing support and care for those already infected and actively challenging the denial, stigma and discrimination so commonly associated with HIV.

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