hiv/aids is the most devastating illness of modem day. there were thirty-three million people living with hiv/aids in 2007, and there were two million aids deaths. in his hook. race against time, stephen lewis explains that there are 14 million orphan children in sub-saharan africa alone and this number will be 20 million by 2010 (lewis, 2008). hiv/aids also accounts for about 20% of all deaths and disability-adjusted life years lost in africa, which makes it the biggest single component of the continent’s disease burden (creese, floyd, alban and guinness, 2002). this paper is to serve as a resource to non-governmental organizations working in the field of hiv/aids. it will begin with a background to the pandemic, and then discuss best practices in the field by drawing on current successful non-governmental organizations. it will also discuss solutions and approaches at the macro, meso and micro levels.