Rudd’s HIV call to Asia

Rudd’s HIV call to Asia

The Rudd Government will encourage Australia’s Asia-Pacific neighbours to introduce laws that protect people with HIV and homosexually active men from discrimination -” laws it is yet to introduce at home.
The human rights push announced by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is part of a new international HIV strategy to combat the growing epidemic on Australia’s doorstep.
-œIf we are to make progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goal to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV, our response needs to be intensified, Smith said.
-œThis is not just a question of doing more, but also doing it better.

He cited Asian research which claims the spread of HIV can be stopped if prevention programs reach 80 percent of the high risk populations such as drug users, sex workers and their clients, and men who have sex with men.
The report claimed reaching those at-risk people is difficult because of systemic homophobia.
-œProtecting people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation can remove secrecy by men who have sex with men, and increase their likelihood of accessing HIV services, the report stated.
-œProtections may be provided through statutory or constitutional law or by giving international treaties the force of law.
Australia will also encourage its neighbours to update laws and policies that discourage people from knowing their HIV status, receiving treatment and make it difficult to access condoms and clean needles.
The release of AusAID’s new HIV response also puts the Government in the awkward position of having an inter-national HIV strategy, but not a national one.
Despite this, Australian AIDS groups praised the strategy for learning from Australia’s successes in the 1980s.
AFAO executive director Don Baxter said sex between men will contribute to 46 percent of new infections in the region by 2020 unless funding was substantially increased.
-œAustralia’s contribution to HIV funding and expertise in the Asia Pacific region over the last decade has been considerable -” but investment in gay and MSM programs has been minimal. This new strategy should guide re-calibration of those investments.
The HIV Consortium for Partnerships in Asia, which is already implementing AusAID’s Regional HIV Capacity Building Program, is likely to be a key beneficiary from the policy shift.
-œSupport for partnership programs means that the experience of the Australian HIV sector can be shared through collaborative programs that respond to the needs of our partners, HIV Consortium program director Mark Bebbington said.
Bebbington also called on the Government to fulfil its commitment to increase aid funding to 0.5 percent of gross national income by 2015.

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.