NAPWA marks 20 years

The national coalition of groups representing people with HIV/AIDS celebrated its 20th anniversary last week and released its new four-year strategic plan.
NAPWA president Robert Mitchell said the organisation decided to release its own strategy now rather than wait for the overdue national HIV strategy.
-œThe thing that is unique about being HIV positive is a unique holistic outlook on the response that is needed. Whereas other groups like doctors will look at clinical issues, positive people will say we’re more than just pills, he told Southern Star.
-œIt’s not just how governments’ social policy, welfare support or primary healthcare plans affect positive people. You can’t just provide treatment solutions. You can’t provide care and support plans without looking at housing and employment issues or other social determinants of health.
NAPWA’s strategy looks at maintaining and strengthening ties to communities closely linked to the epidemic, such as sex workers and injecting drug users.
Human rights and social justice for positive people was also a strong focus, with NAPWA soon to release a report on the criminalisation of HIV transmission in Australia.
Senator Louise Pratt, who heads the new Parliamentary Liaison Group on blood-borne viruses and STIs, told the 20th anniversary event last Friday that stigma still needed to be challenged.
-œFor some people the 1980s were the dying years, but NAPWA is here to show we [the sector] are still here. We all know we’ve won some respite, but we haven’t won the war, she said.
-œThere is still a large amount of fear around HIV. So we’ve taken up the long and difficult task of reaching out to the wider community.
NAPWA receives funding from the federal Department of Health and Ageing, resulting from the previous national strategy.