Shaun Robinson The New Zealand AIDS Foundation says it’s disappointing the massive decrease in HIV diagnoses for gay and bisexual men in 2011 wasn’t sustained, but it believes the signs are still encouraging. The number of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand rose to a likely 87 in 2012. The 2012 figure is an increase from the likely 69 gay and bi men who diagnosed in 2011, but still down from the spike in locally-diagnosed new infections in 2010, when 100 gay and bi men discovered they had HIV. The NZAF says since its Get it On! condom promotion programme was implemented in 2010, new HIV diagnoses in gay and bisexual men have dropped by over 20 per cent. “Over the three years that Get it On! has been in full operation the trend in new diagnoses is downwards,” says NZAF Executive Director Shaun Robinson. “2010 was when NZAF really started to do HIV prevention differently and so that is where we measure our results from.” Robinson says often a downward trend resembles a ball bouncing down a staircase; it bounces up on its way down. “Every year brings fresh challenges and every new HIV diagnosis is one that was preventable by the use of condoms and lube,” he says. “I’m confident that the NZAF is doing the right things to reduce the spread of HIV.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 26th March 2013 - 9:25am