The consultation was welcomed by participants and the opportunity to make input to the UNAIDS Strategy 2016-2021 was appreciated. The discussions were robust, thoughtful and direct. The region has a clear view of its priorities, and the directions it needs to go. There was a depth of experience from different perspectives of the HIV epidemic, that currently characterizes the region: it knows its epidemic, knows what drives it, has lived and worked with it for decades and knows what works, doesn’t expect any ‘quick fixes’, but is also quick to recognize changes in situation, circumstance and epidemiological reality, and respond to them. There is a strong sense that the region will emerge better at the end of AIDS.