Reports show that most Australians are complacent about getting AIDS. They feel that unless a person is homosexual or an injecting drug user or a sex worker, they are not at risk.
The national infection rates, which have stabilized at around 1,000 cases a year, have not come down significantly, despite the efforts of healthcare professionals and affected communities. These findings came up at a meeting in Sydney this week for the Australasian Sexual Health Conference.
Regionally the HIV/AIDS situation is not good. Aboriginal Australians are also vulnerable. There are fast-growing epidemics in many of the big cities of south-east Asia and some Pacific islands. Apart from transmission the access to antiretroviral drugs in many places is difficult and treatment programs are seriously affected by rich nations cutting their funding to HIV programs.
This year the Sixth National HIV Strategy was released. This would mean greater collaboration between state and federal governments and the community.
More than 1,000 people are in Sydney this week for the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference. They include hundreds from the Asia-Pacific region, south-east Asia and further afield, to share experiences, knowledge and strategies.
IAS-USA releases updated HIV treatment and prevention guidelines