This paper is a contribution to the debate on preventative education concerning HIV/AIDS. It relates to a programme in eastern Sudan, an area with a largely Muslim population and a wide variety of ethnicities and cultural practices.Ockenden and its local partners began a large multi-sectoral project to fight HIV/AIDS in the eastern part of Sudan in early 2004. Focused on preventing the further increase of the disease in both Red Sea and Kassala States it has four main purposes:1. To increase awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS, 2. To build the institutional capacity of local and national organisations to fight the disease, 3. To address the socio-economic factors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS, 4. To facilitate HIV/AIDS related research, knowledge management, training and policy development at national and State level.The overall goal is to create a response to HIV/AIDS education that involves entire communities in an active learning experience and that enables preventative action.