Refugees are people, and people are prone to catch HIV from each other – and then pass it on to others – unless they have some understanding of the disease and take the necessary precautions to prevent it spreading. However, traditional structures for dealing with refugees – from the camp management level up to the host and donor government policy-making levels – have tended to ignore the obvious: when it comes to HIV/AIDS, refugees should not be treated in isolation from the surrounding population. The UN refugee agency has been working closely with UNAIDS – of which it became a co-sponsor in June 2004 – to address these issues. Marking this year's World AIDS Day on, December 1, a jointly produced publication that is part of the UNAIDS 'Best Practice Collection' will be officially launched.