The department of the NZ AIDS Foundation charged with convincing gay men to avoid HIV is getting its biggest shake up in years. The NZAF's Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier says the sharp increase in new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men over the last few years has been a wake-up call both for the community and the Foundation, and these changes are designed specifically to improve NZAF's ability to achieve its goal of reducing HIV transmission in New Zealand. “We're dealing with a serious new epidemic affected by factors unseen in the 1980s and 1990s - the emergence of the Internet as a meeting place, the success of new treatments in extending the lifespan of people living with HIV, and threats to the established condom culture. This virus is constantly adapting, and we must also adapt to meet this challenge now.” The staff and operational changes, primarily in Auckland-based positions, include the appointment of a new full-time Gay Men's Health Team Co-ordinator, Matt Creamer, who was formerly the first Diversity Liaison Officer in the New Zealand Police. The NZAF says Creamer will work to combine strong management with leadership in community engagement for HIV prevention community workers around the country. A new full-time role, National Campaigns Co-ordinator, has been filled by Douglas Jenkin, who already has twelve years experience at the NZAF designing and implementing what the NZAF says are some of its most popular and successful campaigns for gay men. A health promotion role specifically to concentrate on HIV prevention using the internet and new technologies has also been created, as well as a new HIV Prevention and Communications Manager role, to oversee an expanded and refined team of skilled people with expertise in community relationships, social marketing and behaviour change. The changes, to be in place by mid-October are "essential for the NZAF to maximise its ability to reduce HIV transmissions" and are introduced as a result of corporate feedback received from gay men's community forums held in the main centres almost a year ago, trends identified in new research, and recommendations from a number of recent external audits, according to Le Mesurier. “We need to be sure that our core audience of gay and bisexual men not only believe in the message, but have trust that the messenger has their best interests at heart,” she says. “This new structure will sharpen our focus on building strong communities and ensuring that gay and bisexual men use condoms for anal sex, every time.” Ref: GayNZ.com (mj)