Dr Clive Aspin will be presenting research to the Auckland Pan Pacific HIV/AIDS conference today, which suggests that Maori are at much higher risk of the disease than the rest of the population. According to Dr Aspin's findings, Maori rates of AIDS diagnosis are around 15 to 20 percent, well above the 14 percent general population threshold. He suggests that this could be associated with generally lower socioeconomic status, lack of access to culturally appropriate services and lack of health resources such as condoms. Dr Aspin also notes that a higher proportion of Maori women have been diagnosed with HIV. He warns that New Zealanders are too complacent about the level of HIV risk within their communities, and are dangerously unaware that last year New Zealand had the highest rate of HIV diagnosis ever. This week's conference is aimed at tackling the rising problem of HIV/AIDS throughout the Pacific region.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 26th October 2005 - 12:00pm