The financially-stressed NZ AIDS Foundation has launched its public campaign to stamp out the recurrence of HIV infections in New Zealand by 2025. The campaign is appearing at a time when the number of newly-diagnosed HIV infections per year is at its highest level since the beginning of the then-fatal epidemic thirty years ago. Most HIV infections in this country are contracted by gay and bisexual men. For instance, research suggests one in fifteen gay and bi men in Auckland are living with HIV and of these, 1 in 5 don’t even know they have it. The new campaign, called Ending HIV, is in line with global HIV strategy promoted by the World Health Organisation and has been developed with assistance from Australian HIV organisation ACON. The NZAF says it offers a combination of tools to prevent HIV transmissions. If successful, the strategy could see HIV effectively eradicated from New Zealand's gay, bi and trans communities within a generation of 2025. “If we embrace every possible way of preventing HIV transmission, together we can end the transmission of HIV in New Zealand. This is an ambitious goal, but we’re confident that this is achievable,” says Jason Myers, Executive Director of the NZAF. “Condoms,” he says, “are more important than ever. They are the easiest way to protect against HIV and other STIs during sex. HIV is most dangerous when you don’t know it’s there – so getting tested at least twice a year is a must for gay and bi men, more often if the y are not playing safe.” “If you do test positive for HIV, the new medications available are very effective, easy to take and have few side effects. HIV is not a death sentence, it’s a serious but manageable, life-long health condition.” The Foundation says if rates of condom use are maintained, if Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is made available to those who need it, undiagnosed HIV infection is addressed through increased testing and those who’re diagnosed with HIV are provided immediate treatment, the goal of reaching virtually zero new infections would be achieve. However, the new initiative comes at a time when government health priorities appear to be moving away from HIV, with PrEP yet to be funded despite being widely available around the world, the NZAF's funding from the Ministry of Health Frozen for years without regard for inflation leading to it's accumulated $500,000 debt as it struggles to maintain services and programmes, and the Ministry's refusal to fund research leaving HIV agencies working with years-old information.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 1st February 2017 - 9:53am