Around 25 gay and lesbian Aucklanders attending the second last NZ AIDS Foundation community forum last night heard that the Foundation's prevention work has been made particularly difficult by its inability to easily reach men hooking up over the internet for sex. The 25 were joined by another 20 or so Foundation staff, past staff and people professionally involved in HIV work or gay community welfare. In 2005 there was one new infection among MSM every four days. There were 89 new HIV diagnoses, a nearly one-fifth increase on the previous highest figure in 2004. Almost all these new infections were contracted in New Zealand, and almost all in the North Island. Three out of every four new HIV diagnoses reported were from MSM in Auckland. In its opening presentation last night the Foundation attributed the soaring rate of new HIV infections since 2000 in large part to the growth of internet hookups, the increasing pool of relatively healthy HIV positive people - those who know they have the virus and those who remain unaware, the destigmatisation of homosexuality which may have led to an increase in casual sex bi bisexual men, and the lower visibility, compared to a decade ago, of the deadly consequences of HIV infection. The NZAF also inferred that the internet is not only enabling more men to have sex but is also increasing the frequency with which those men are able to have sex. It raised concerns about the number of sexually active men who remain naive about the dangers of HIV, through not accessing traditional gay media and venues. “Condoms are wonderfully successful in protecting against HIV,” said NZAF Research manager Tony Hughes, but it is clear by the highest rates of new infection detected since the beginning of the deadly epidemic that the need for condoms is not reaching many men.” In response the NZAF was questioned repeatedly about the efficacy of its campaigns and strategies, and a raft of suggestions for addressing the new aspects of the epidemic were made from the floor. Those suggestions will be blended with suggestions from earlier forums in Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton, plus a small late-organised forum to be held in Tauranga in ten days' time. A source within the Foundation says the Christchurch and Wellington forums were well attended, the Hamilton one less so. He said it was notable that many of those attending the Wellington forum concentrated on behind the scenes aspects such as the NZAF Trust Board's functions. GayNZ.com will carry a full combined report on the feedback and suggestions from around the country soon after the Tauranga forum.