On World AIDS Day 2009, the Australian Government announced new funding of $3 million to HIV prevention programs in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Burma over the next 3 years.
Of the $3 million in new funding:
- $750,000 will go to the Three Diseases Fund in Burma to address HIV prevention for men who have sex with men, among other vulnerable groups
- $1.5 million will go to our Indonesian bilateral program to support implementation of a national plan of action for MSM in partnership with the National AIDS Commission. This would focus on areas such as HIV prevention amongst MSM, provision of accessible and high quality sexual health services for MSM, and HIV care linked to prevention programming for HIV positive MSM
- $750,000 will go to our Bilateral Program with Papua New Guinea to support MSM affected by HIV. In partnership with the National AIDS Council Secretariat, the PNG Australia HIV and AIDS Program will support activities including health clinical services for men, support to strengthen the enabling environment in terms of policy and legal reform, and capacity building to strengthen advocacy for and by men who have sex with men.
The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region continues to increase, with an estimated five million people now living with HIV/AIDS.
Men who have sex with men have been identified as one of the major drivers of the epidemic in Asia. If prevention efforts are not expanded it is expected that in 2020 around 46 per cent of new infections will be in this group, up from 13 per cent in 2008.
In April this year, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Stephen Smith, launched Australia's new international development strategy for HIV, 'Intensifying the Response: Halting the Spread of HIV'.
The strategy emphasises the importance of effective HIV prevention measures, particularly for groups most at risk of infection and spreading the disease. The new prevention activities announced on World AIDS Day will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal target to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
World AIDS day promotes awareness of the epidemic and reaffirms Australia's commitment to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS and supporting those living with the disease.
More information
Website: World AIDS Day
Media release: World AIDS Day 21st Anniversary
HIV Strategy: Intensifying the Response: Halting the Spread of HIV [PDF 2.2mb]
HIV/AIDS: Australia's response