In essence, migration and mobility are various stages of a process and emphasis should be given to the “continuum” of events and the mobility system. Within the mobility system, the following types of places can be discerned:

 

Source - where people come from, why they leave, what relationships they maintain at home or while they are away, the role vacated by them after they leave.

 

Transit – the places people pass through, how they travel and how they behave and interact with others while traveling.

 

Destination – where people go, the responses of the host community, their living and working conditions in the new place.

 

Return – the communities to which people return which may or may not be their place of origin, their families or social network, their access to resources.

This strategy recognises, through the mobility system, the importance of supporting people who are affected by mobility and HIV, including communities in transition.

 

Transition – communities undergo transition from relative isolation to being connected as a result of rapidly changing mobility systems (e.g. introduction of new roads into their localities).

 

Since population movement is fluid, effective HIV/AIDS responses must address the particular needs and vulnerabilities of mobile people at each stage of the mobility process.