First of all, let’s be clear on something. HIV is different than AIDS. HIV (the virus) causes AIDS (the disease). People can live years with the virus without ever developing symptoms of the disease (we call them HIV positive). The third stage of the virus’ cycle is the latency period and that can take up to 20 years. This part is characterized by few or no symptoms.
The fourth stage is AIDS. That is when your body is most exposed to diseases because you have no white cells to defend yourself. You end up dying of another infection that takes advantage of the body’s weakened condition.
There is no cure, no vaccine for AIDS. The only method of prevention is to avoid exposure. The medical cocktails available significantly prolongue a person’s life to close the average lifespan. Still, anti-retroviral drugs are quite expensive and the majority of the infected individuals doesn’t have access to them.