Tue 18 Oct 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
After almost a decade of Love Your Condom and in the face of a resurgent HIV epidemic amongst gay and bisexual men the NZAF is about to promote HIV prevention strategies it has in the past been reluctant to publicly embrace. The change, which is fundamental and will be progressively phased in after a "big bang" launch on February 1st will be branded "Ending HIV" and its branding and imagery is styled on a campaign already being promoted by Australian HIV prevention authorities. At the core of the new campaign and branding is progressive promotion of Condoms as the best protection from HIV infection but more public emphasis will be given to the role of PrEP, whereby those who cannot adhere to condom use can be put on drug regimes to reduce their risk of contracting HIV through unprotected set. Also getting more emphasis, against a background of the worst annual HIV infection rates in thirty years, will be the role sexually active gay and bi men can play by getting tested for HIV more frequently and getting on to HIV treatment regimes as soon as possible to improve their health prognoses and lower the risk of others contracting HIV from them. The NZAF's new Executive Director, Jason Myers, acknowledged that the NZAF has been critical of such approaches in the past, but says his organisation has preferred to wait until the science behind the approaches is more proven and results better documented.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 18th October 2016 - 12:21pm