The NZ AIDS Foundation is welcoming a funding boost from the Ministry of Health, as it needs to be in a solid position to fight an epidemic which is gaining both in New Zealand and globally. "There is a new generation for whom AIDS has none of the terror or fear that it holds for those of us who watched our friends die around us,” says NZAF chair Michael Stevens. “Complacency among the youth and also now amongst the community in general is growing. It is good we are prepared, for I fear our work will get harder and harder." Mr Stevens credits former Executive Director Kevin Hague and NZAF staff for ensuring the financial wellbeing of the Foundation, saying that their work often passes unacknowledged. He also notes that the increase in HIV statistics in New Zealand are not all from people infected in this country. “We are seeing increased numbers of men in the medical system who have been diagnosed overseas and are appearing in our statistics by having a Viral Load test done here,” he says.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 3rd December 2003 - 12:00pm