Prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Germany. From HIV to STI prevention

The strategy of "social learning" has been established as the decisive basis for the development of prevention measures in the field of HIV/AIDS in Germany. In recent years, HIV/AIDS prevention has been expanded to include sexually transmitted infections (STI), and the"Don't Give AIDS a Chance" umbrella campaign of the Federal Centre for Health Education (Bundeszentrale fur gesundheitliche Aufklarung , BZgA) has gradually developed into an integrated HIV/STI campaign. The population currently has a comparatively low level of knowledge regarding STI. The integrated HIV/STI campaign faces the challenge of firstly sensitizing the entire population to the subject of STI. The declared aims of this expanded campaign are to successively increase the level of knowledge, to motivate and enable the public to protect themselves, and to promote communication skills regarding STI. At the same time, it is essential to increase cooperation with the medical community and medical scientific societies for the purpose of prevention work.