The Pan Pacific HIV AIDS conference was held this week in Auckland, during which delegates called for an end to the stigma and discrimination some HIV infected and high-risk groups receive from some Pacific nations. Themes and recommendations were presented from a pre-conference gathering of HIV+ people, which noted the stigma some receive, and called for better support and understanding, as well as improved access to affordable treatments. The Pacific region is facing an HIV pandemic with sharp increases in new infections being reported. Fiji was criticized in particular, with a spokesman from Fiji's Sexual Minorities project citing legal, official and social discrimination faced by gay men in the nation leading to greater levels of high-risk behaviour, including self-harm. UNAIDS spokesman Prasada Rao called for stronger and more united leadership by national governments, guided by the evidence of what is happening in the Pacific concerning HIV, not by what is politically expedient.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 29th October 2005 - 12:00pm