A critical issue for universities is to prevent HIV infections among their students, who are usually in the age groups most vulnerable to HIV. However, universities are also increasingly being asked to provide care and support to infected students and staff. They also need to consider programmes to manage and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on their core purposes of teaching and research. This concise planning tool helps to identify the minimum level of services and activities that should be present in all institutions, as well as to provide links to the wealth of information and service providers available on the topic. The Action Guide explains the theory behind its recommendations, makes concrete suggestions and points the reader to other available resources. It can be used as a framework to develop an HIV and AIDS Action Plan for an individual university; or to plan a collaborative response by a group of universities in one geographical area.