Gay men were once again identified as a top priority in the recently released 6th National HIV Strategy.
HIV organisations welcomed the new edition with both the federal and state governments backing the latest strategy.
It is one part of five that encompass Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Hepatitis B and C and STI’s borne in indigenous communities.
Gay men ranked as a top HIV priority in the strategy along with groups such as sex workers, intravenous drug users and the indigenous community.
These groups accounted for 67 per cent of new HIV cases reported between 2004 and 2008 with resurgent epidemics throughout the country since 2000.
President of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, Dr Graham Brown said while the last strategy failed, this new plan would push for more than meagre aspirations.
‘This is the first strategy to have measurable objectives and targets that we can track through the life of the strategy,’ Dr Brown said.
‘What we need now is the political will at a state and federal level that will support our community agencies … The fact that all Australian governments have endorsed the strategies – something we did not achieve with the previous strategy – goes a long way to towards this.’
‘We need the community and political will to push the envelope – the status quo is not enough.’
While this latest strategy embraces new direction for the HIV movement in Australia, its impact may be hindered by a spate of negative stories filtering through the media.
In April, a NSW man sued his ex-boyfriend for around $750,000 for knowingly passing on HIV.
The plaintiff told the Sydney Star Observer he believed he had infected his boyfriend with HIV, even attempting suicide out of guilt.
Three weeks later, the defendant revealed to his partner that he had been diagnosed with the disease a year earlier and hadn’t told the plaintiff.
Back in WA, recent figures revealed last month that HIV notifications rose 100 per cent amongst gay men in the Perth metro area.
The state government compiled the statistics over a three-month period and compared them to the previous year’s numbers.
Mark Reid from the WA AIDS Council warned that many gay men did not even realise they were HIV positive and urged people to get tested.
The administration of Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) treatments also came under the microscope after a Victorian man slammed the staff of the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a lack of knowledge and sensitivity of the treatment.
Southern Star reported that the 22-year-old man had taken his friend to the hospital where they waited for six hours before nursing staff told them they were unsure what the treatment actually was.
A second man came forward and reported a similar instance. The RMH later apologised for its handling of the PEP cases.
The West Australian AIDS Council currently works alongside the WA government in promoting further awareness and education of the PEP treatment.
Mr Reid said there were plenty of resources available for anyone who had any questions about the drug course.
‘The information on PEP is absolutely out there.’ Mr Reid said.
You can grab more information on PEP from the WAAC website at www.waaids.com
Benn Dorrington
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