Prevention was the buzzword at the HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting that ended Saturday in Kampala, Uganda, according to the Xinhua News Agency (xinhuanet.com, 6/7). Leaders from more than 70 countries were present for the five-day summit.

Participants said AIDS prevention efforts lack the resources afforded to AIDS treatment, which can be very expensive. They agreed that prevention remains the best method for eradicating the disease, urging leaders to develop individualized prevention strategies that address their countries’ specific needs.

“Our chief weapon against HIV/AIDS has always been and must continue to be prevention,” the first lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, said during the conference’s closing remarks. “People need not only to learn but also be reminded constantly that their own line of defense against this killer disease which has no cure is to avoid contracting it in the first place.”

Last week, Uganda’s AIDS Commission announced it would not be providing services to the country’s gay men.