Malawi continues to register significant progress in the national response to HIV as evidenced by results highlighted in this report.  The 2012 AIDS Response Progress Report provides evidence that Malawi continues to register progress in the areas of prevention; treatment, care and support; and impact mitigation.  This has been facilitated by development, implementation and monitoring of evidence based policies and strategies in the response to HIV and AIDS, among other factors. 
The period 2004 to 2010 saw the decline in the national HIV prevalence from 12% to 10.6%. This reduction is encouraging although more work still needs to be done in order to continue decreasing the number of new infections, which is still quite high at the moment. Malawi has produced a comprehensive National HIV Prevention Strategy (2009-2013) with an implementation plan that seeks to consolidate all prevention interventions in one single coherent framework with clear management and implementation mandates.  
The period under review also saw a number of key documents being reviewed and developed. Some of these are: the HIV and AIDS Policy that has been reviewed and finalized and is awaiting approval; the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (2011-2016); the Male Circumcision Policy; and, the new M&E Plan (2011-2016). All these have been produced in order to ensure that the National Response to HIV and AIDS remains focused and produces tangible results.   
The 2012 Response report therefore comes at an opportune time where we can review the achievements and challenges that the country has registered and encountered, so that we can consolidate the gains and effectively address the challenges identified.  This process will therefore ensure that the country fulfils its own aspirations as well as contribute towards the global efforts to fight against HIV and AIDS.   