HIV shake-up with radical targets
ROBERT BURTON-BRADLEY
New South Wales has set an ambitious target of reducing HIV among gay men by 60 percent by 2015, leaping ahead of the federal government which has yet to outline a response to a significant increase in new HIV cases this year.
NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner (pictured) will seek to introduce rapid HIV testing by early next year, as well as a massive increase in the availability of anti-retroviral drugs to HIV sufferers who do not currently qualify, and will aim for a reduction in the time between HIV infection and diagnosis from 4.5 years to 1.5 years following a national rise in infections of more than eight percent.
The minister also indicated that an independent expert will audit HIV non-goverment organisation (NGO) funding worth tens of millions of dollars as part of a review of all NSW Health-funded organisations.
The new plan follows a 33.9 percent increase in newly acquired HIV infections in the state.聽The total number of new cases in NSW, which includes people had not been tested regularly for HIV, increased by 10.8 percent.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 ambitious but I am of the belief that if you don鈥檛 start with a reasonably ambitious proposal you just don鈥檛 go anywhere,鈥� Skinner told the 17c起草社区.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an aspirational target but the big 鈥榠f鈥� is that the Commonwealth will partner up, because a lot of what we want to do of course relies on the Commonwealth living up to their word about endorsing the UN strategy for HIV reductions by 2015.鈥�
There have been a total of 31,645 cases of HIV in Australia with 50 percent of the 24,731 current聽cases living in NSW, however Skinner said this was a small number when considering the costs involved in expanding rapid testing and treatment. It is estimated almost 5,000 of these cases are undiagnosed.
鈥淟ook we are not talking about millions of people, it should really be a very proactive strategy on the part of both state and federal, there鈥檚 very good research coming out now in partnership with the Kirby Institute at UNSW and other places, so I think we have tried to make some quite innovative in-roads in this space in NSW in the last 18 months,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 think the federal [health] minister will be keen to demonstrate that she is willing to put action where at the moment there are just words.鈥�
Skinner also indicated that the existing funding arrangements for HIV NGOs would be re-examined as part of a review by former Chair of the Australian National Council on AIDS, Chris Puplick, who’s been engaged as a consultant.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going through a process of reviewing the whole NGO program right across NSW Health to ensure that funds are applied appropriately and that the use of funds are rigorously evaluated so that they are outcomes based and we will be making announcements of those in the New Year,鈥� she said.
Skinner said that the $73 million the NSW government spends annually on HIV/AIDS-related programs had been recommitted to for the next financial year.
The national HIV infection figures were revealed in the Kirby Institute鈥檚 Annual Surveillance Report of HIV.
Criticism of Australia鈥檚 response to HIV at both the state and federal level has been growing this year since the new figures were revealed.
The AIDS Council of NSW (ACON), , welcomed the NSW plan.
CEO Nicolas Parkhill said it was needed to put an end in sight for the pandemic.
鈥淲ith this new strategy, NSW is now leading the way forward in terms of HIV prevention in Australia and ACON commends the NSW government generally, and Minister Skinner in particular, for making this important commitment to the health and wellbeing of our community,鈥� Parkhill said.
Last month, a coalition HIV groups from all states and territories , which described Australia鈥檚 once groundbreaking partnership approach to HIV as stalled, stagnated and lacking communication, innovation and vision.
The on HIV for several categories in the UN World AIDS Day report.
Since the revelation that HIV infections had jumped, the federal government has allocated $13 million in funding to HIV research, but has yet to make any other commitments.
Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek recently said that plans were already underway on improving access to rapid testing and making available PrEP for serodiscordant couples but declined to provide details on when these actions might be implemented.
鈥淚mproving access to anti-retroviral drugs is a priority for the government and we have already commenced work in this area,鈥� a spokesman from Plibersek鈥檚 office told the 17c起草社区 this week.
Skinner said she remained confident Plibersek鈥檚 attendance at the 2012 international AIDS conference in Washington this year was symbolic of a new level of federal engagement with the issue of HIV despite the plan put forward by NSW likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars if rolled out nationally.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 about making sure we work collaboratively. It鈥檚 all very well to say that, but you鈥檝e got to actually take action if you are going to achieve it and, look, I think in fairness to [Tanya Plibersek], she was very affected, very influenced by her attendance in Washington last year [at] the global conference on HIV/AIDS,” she said.
鈥淚 think there is likely to be a new commitment and I certainly have a very long interest and commitment in this space and I think we should work together.鈥�
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