Acronyms Decoded

ABC: Abstinence, Be Faithful, Condoms

ACT UP: AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(sometimes written as Aids, especially in British and African sources)

AoA: Acting on AIDS

ART: Antiretroviral Therapy

ARVs: Antiretroviral drugs

CBO: Community-Based Organization

CDC: Center for Disease Control

CSW: Commercial Sex Worker

FBO: Faith-Based Organization

GBV: Gender-Based Violence

GFATM: Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

HAART: Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

IDU: Injection (or Intravenous) Drug Users

IMF: International Monetary Fund

MDGs: Millennium Development Goals

MSM: Men who have sex with men

MTCT: Mother to Child Transmission

NGO: Non-Governmental Organization

OGAC: Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator

OVC: Orphans and Vulnerable Children

PEPFAR: President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

PIH: Partners in Health

SRH: Sexual and Reproductive Health

STD: Sexually Transmitted Disease

STI: Sextually Transmitted Infection

TB: Tuberculosis

TRIPs: Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

SGAC: Student Global AIDS Campaign

UNAIDS: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNDP: United Nations Development Programme

UNGASS: United Nations General Assembly Special Session (on HIV/AIDS)

USAID: United States Agency for International Development

VCT: Voluntary Counselling and Testing

WHO: World Health Organization