Subtitled ‘Revitalising Australia’s Response,’ the 5th National HIV/AIDS Strategy was developed in partnership with the medical professions, social researchers and representatives of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, and will guide policy and programs for the next three years.
MACASHH HIV subcommittee chair Frank Bowden and federal health minister Tony Abbott at the launch of the 5th National HIV/AIDS Strategy at Sydney’s Marriott Hotel on 17 June. PHOTO: GLENN FLANAGAN.” alt=“NAPWA vice-president David Menadue, MACASHH HIV subcommittee chair Frank Bowden and federal health minister Tony Abbott at the launch of the 5th National HIV/AIDS Strategy at Sydney’s Marriott Hotel on 17 June. PHOTO: GLENN FLANAGAN.” />
The goal of the strategy is to reduce HIV transmission and to minimise the personal and social impacts of HIV/AIDS infection.
The new strategy has identified six priority areas — the development of a targeted prevention education program for people at risk; improving the health of people living with HIV/AIDS through treatments; better support services for people living with HIV/AIDS; development of the national HIV surveillance programs; a review of HIV testing policy; and a clearer direction for HIV/AIDS research.
The strategy identifies gay and homosexually active men and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) as the highest priority groups for education and health promotion efforts, and notes that “PLWHA have played an important and effective role in the implementation of previous national HIV/AIDS strategies, and the beneficial roles played by PLWHA in health promotion, treatment, research, and care and support initiatives are the best evidence of the value of this group in the national response. With the number of PLWHA in Australia continuing to grow, the response to HIV/AIDS in Australia needs to recognise that PLWHA are crucial to providing insight into effective and meaningful social and clinical interventions.”
Launching the strategy at a function in Sydney on 17 June, the federal health minister, Tony Abbott, called for compassion towards people living with HIV/AIDS. “HIV/AIDS is a health issue and it should be treated that way,” he said. “People living with HIV/AIDS should not be judged but should be offered every available treatment to improve their quality of life.”
The new strategy was delayed by more than a year, despite a review of the previous strategy commissioned by the then health minister, Kay Patterson, in 2002. That review identified a faltering of leadership in Australia’s national HIV response and called for the development of a whole-of-government response to HIV/AIDS and a comprehensive program of prevention, education and treatment strategies. At the same time, rises in HIV notifications across Australia have been generating concern about a resurgent epidemic and increasing calls for a revitalised response.
Speaking at the strategy launch, the executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), Don Baxter, said “in this context it is not surprising gestation period for the 5th strategy has been protracted,” but said the community was “much happier” with the resulting document.
The National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA) also welcomed the release of the strategy. “Given there are more people living with HIV in Australia than ever before, prioritising the health needs of PLWHA within the strategy is essential and timely,” said NAPWA President Gabe McCarthy in a press release.
“People living with HIV/AIDS are recognised as having a central role in revitalising the National HIV/AIDS response,” she said. “NAPWA played a vital role in the strategy’s development emphasising the need to keep positive people at the heart of responding to developments and challenges in treatments, care and support, as well as HIV health promotion programs.”
At the launch of the strategy, the health minister also committed $24 million to fund the three national HIV research centres over the next three years, and announced that Medicare funding would be available for HIV antibody tests for the first time.
Following the launch of the HIV/AIDS strategy, the government also launched a new hepatitis C strategy and Australia’s first national sexually-transmissible infection (STI) strategy.
