PIP: The second decade of the AIDS pandemic makes increasingly apparent the political, legal, cultural, ethnic, and economic aspects of AIDS. The dichotomy between developments of the pandemic in the developed and the developing world is apparent in HIV counseling and testing. The practice of HIV counseling in the developed world relies upon the WHO/GPA model of pre- and post-test counseling. This model responds to the personal risk of being HIV tested by requiring informed consent during pre-test counseling. However, informed consent similarly applied in the developing world has not been so effective. In the developed world, a pharmacological response to the virus is possible, offering an incentive to be tested and subsequently treated. In the developing world, no such drug treatment exists, there is less imperative to discover one's HIV status, and relatively few return for their test results or benefit from education during post-test counseling. The tendency to delay counseling and testing until symptoms appear results in confirmed fears by pre-test counseling alone. The Network of AIDS Researchers in Eastern and Southern African (NARESA) has devised a new counseling model, using an eclectic and integrated approach. The first cohort of 12 counselor-trainers was trained over a 1-month period at NARESA's Center in Nairobi. Participants explored their own subjective experiences through an interactive model. Counseling skills were explored and practiced in small groups. Interactions were videotaped so that participants could analyze their behavior. These counselor-trainers have returned to their countries to organize counseling courses based upon this model and a cross-cultural counseling manual. Counseling is one of the few therapeutic interventions which is affordable and feasible for developing countries. The NARESA initiative will establish a network of counselors who will evaluate this eclectic model for the developing world.