Increasingly, education is considered as effective tool to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However the impact of HIV/AIDS on education, especially on the higher education sector, has not yet been well-documented. Although some case studies have recently been undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, there is little known about the situation in West Africa. The UNESCO review of Universities Responses to HIV/AIDS aims to fill some of this knowledge gap, through this study in Burkina Faso. The results are expected to have implications not only for the country itself, but for the wider international community involved in developing comprehensive responses to HIV/AIDS. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of HIV/AIDS on, and the response by, the higher education sector in Burkina Faso. The research involves the perspectives and experiences of teachers, students and administrative personnel in the higher education sector, with particularly focus on the University of Ouagadougou. Methods employed in this review include: document review (including those related to higher education, HIV/AIDS, programme evaluations, policies, etc.); interviews and focus group discussions with University of Ouagadougou staff and students, and a self-administered questionnaire to students and staff of the University of Ouagadougou. Six focus group discussions were done and 30 people were interviewed. The survey started in February and ended in April, 2005.