Although HIV can strike anyone, it is not an equal opportunity virus. Gender inequality, poverty, lack of education and inadequate access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services continue to fuel the epidemic. This booklet will detail how and why prevention works. By applying the principles of prevention to diverse populations around the world, the global community can help slow, and possibly halt, what is proving to be one of the greatest health challenges of our time. Prevention services cost money, but HIV infection costs far more - in lost lives, ruined families and gutted communities. HIV and AIDS is currently rolling back decades of human development and is threatening to derail anti-poverty initiatives around the world. This advocacy booklet uses real-life examples to explain how HIV prevention can save lives in diverse cultural and geographical settings. It includes chapters on youth and HIV, condom programming, protecting women and girls, linking HIV prevention with other sexual and reproductive health care, and empowering populations who are at particular risk. It also features stories and stunning photography from Belize, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.