Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced almost $6.2 million in funding to support people living with HIV and the path to elimination of new transmissions. On behalf of the Morrison Government, Minister Hunt released a statement outlining their plans for distribution of the funds. “Today, more than 28,000 Australians are living with HIV and […]
There are calls for the Commonwealth Government to develop a mental health and suicide prevention blueprint to tackle the crisis of unmet need within the LGBTIQ community. La Trobe University research released today found 57.2% of more than 6,000 surveyed lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people were experiencing high or very high levels […]
New self-testing kits that allow people to screen for HIV are now available to purchase in Australia. The Atomo HIV Self-Test was approved for sale in Australia in November last year, and is the only model that been allowed on the market. The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) note that it is important to […]
Labor leader Bill Shorten is expected to make a major funding commitment to tackling HIV. The Brisbane Times has reported that the Opposition Leader will announce a $53 million dollar commitment to supporting peak HIV organisations, expanding PrEP trials and addressing the growing rate of new cases of HIV in aboriginal communities. Labor’s health spokesperson […]
Truvada, the drug that makes a huge difference in preventing the spread of HIV, will not be added to Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The game changing medication failed to gain a recommendation that it should be added the tax payer funded scheme. HIV advocacy groups have described the decision as extremely disappointing. Commonly known […]
RTRFM’s ‘All Things Queer’ program has a great line up this morning. Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) Executive Director Darryl O’Donnell will chat about the recent International AIDS Conference inDurban, South Africa. Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham, who will be co-hosting a new TV show called “Buzz From Brazil”, will chat about how to get the […]
The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) has announced the appointment of Darryl O’Donnell as Executive Director. Mr O’Donnell has been appointed to replace current Executive Director Rob Lake until the end December 2016, when a national and international Executive recruitment will take place. Outgoing Executive Director Rob Lake said he has been proud to […]
To mark this World AIDS Day on December 1st, AIDS councils and organisations across Australia are demanding immediate access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis treatment (PrEP) in Australia. The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), The National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS councils across the country have joined forces to urge the government to […]
HIV rates across Australia had their biggest rise in 20 years in 2012. The latest data on HIV was released at the Australasian HIV Conference in Darwin last week. While HIV rates have increased annually over the last 13 years, the biggest increase was in 2012, a dramatic jump of 10% equating to 1253 new […]
In October last year the Melbourne Declaration was launched. A clear strategy on what Australia needs to do to tackle growing rates of HIV. Introducing rapid testing is a key requirement of the strategy, but its rollout is still likely to take considerable time. Meanwhile in the United Kingdom a different approach has been taken […]
