Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission
Angola has had a slow start to preventing vertical transmission, but saw a more than 100% increase in coverage from 2005 to 2006. Coverage decreased in 2007 highlighting the need to sustain gains in coverage in response to the growing numbers of women living with HIV if there is to be reduction in vertical transmission from the current level of 7,6%.

Awareness and Behaviour Change
Most recent information on behaviour comes from the 2006 DHS. Comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission was very low (23% - 25% male, 21% female) and condom use in the last sexual act was low (32%). The percentage of young people having sex before 15 is also very high (32%) indicating that prevention efforts need to work on delaying sexual debut as well as increasing awareness, knowledge and condom use. Angola lacks information on multiple partnerships that will be essential for effective prevention in the future.

Prevention: What is Being Done?

Government planning
• Angolan National AIDS Commission set up in 2002.
• Current 2007 – 2010 National Strategic Plan was laid out in 2006.
• Monitoring and evaluation system set up in April 2005 integrating information from data collection tools used by actors, including government, the United Nations, the World Bank and all implementing partners.
• Since 2003 Regulations on HIV/AIDS and Employment have been in place to support PLHIV and prevent HIV testing for the purpose of employment.
• Policy and legal environment remains less conducive for supporting prevention efforts in high risk groups such as commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men.

Condom programming
• Rapid increases in male condoms procured by health department from 12 million 2006 to 20 million 2007.
• Distribution by NGOs and government prevention services.
• 100 000 female condoms distributed in 2007.

Behaviour change communication
• Angola in 2007 a National Strategy on Communication for HIV was laid out including partnership with Comite Organizador of Afrobasket 2007 and revision and reproduction of ATV manual.
• Angolan network of AIDS service organisations (ANASO) plans to partner with the and communities to mobilize and educate 340,000 young people up till 2010 for increased condom use.

Male Circumcision
• Recent government partnership with PEPFAR focuses on preventing mother-to-child transmission, improving health monitoring and evaluation, and addressing HIV and tuberculosis co-infections, but highlights need to define the role of male circumcision and set up policy.