This brief is addressed to educational planners and managers, as well as other key decisions-makers in the field of education in countries highly affected by the AIDS epidemic, especially those of sub-Saharan Africa where the impact on education systems has been most severe. Building on previous research and on the expertise of UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), the brief focuses on practical aspects of educational planning in a context of HIV. The objective is to underline the main implications of the epidemic for educational planners and managers at central level and possible areas of interventions. It discusses four major challenges in a world with AIDS: delivering effective prevention education; increasing access to schools; maintaining quality of education; integrating the planners' agenda.