What's new from AFAO, our members, and around the world.
Healthy Communities (QAHC), Queensland's only LGBT health and wellbeing organisation, is to be defunded by Queensland Health. The funding cuts will result in the termination of current HIV, STI and Hepatitis C prevention programs across Queensland.
Published : 21/05/2012
A groundbreaking study released on 17 May aims to provide a framework for research that can help governments, civil society, development partners and the transgender community reduce transgender people's vulnerability to HIV in the Asia-Pacific region.
Published : 18/05/2012
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering approval of an over-the-counter HIV test that people can use at home to obtain a rapid HIV test result.
Published : 15/05/2012
In a turn-around from last year's funding freeze, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria estimates that more than $1.6 billion in additional funding will be available& for the 2012-14 period.
Published : 14/05/2012
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has launched a new campaign, "Believe it. Do it.", aimed at bringing attention and action to the global goal of ending new HIV infections among children by 2015 and ensuring mothers living with HIV remain healthy.
Published : 11/05/2012
The Advisory Committee to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the FDA approve Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate)as an HIV prevention measure among sexually active men and women.
Published : 11/05/2012
A new campaign from NAPWA urges people living with HIV talk to their doctors about the benefits of HIV treatment for themselves and their partners.
Published : 09/05/2012
Newly updated US antiretroviral treatment guidelines issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services recommend that all people living with HIV should consider commencing HIV treatment.
Published : 05/04/2012
AFAO has provided comments on gaps in the government exposure draft on the National Human Rights Action Plan, raising important human rights concerns.
Published : 26/03/2012
In Geneva on March 7, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) held its first ever panel session to debate human rights considerations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people.
Published : 13/03/2012
This study of people living with HIV and S100 prescribers showed that PLHIV rely on their doctors for information about antiretroviral treatment.
Published : 07/03/2012
Young gay men may need to be more actively targeted with sexual health promotion campaigns,according to the results of the 'How much do you care' online survey.
Published : 05/03/2012
The Public Health Association of Australia joined with five Australian and international medical, health and fair trade organisations this week to urge the Prime Minister to preserve access to affordable medicines in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
Published : 01/03/2012
HIV Australia magazine is seeking articles on HIV prevention and education projects that use social media and other forms of information and communications technology (ICT).
Published : 28/02/2012
AFAO has just launched an interactive website that aims to help gay men build healthier relationships.
Published : 21/02/2012
Alice Welbourn, HIV-positive activist and member of the Athena Network steering committee, has criticised the lack of involvement of HIV-positive women in the conference plenary.
Published : 21/02/2012
Public health expert Bill Bowtell was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) on Australia day 2012 in recognition of his ‘significant contributions to public health and for his role in developing and implementing of policyand programs supporting HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention’.
Published : 21/02/2012
The South African government has entered into a partnership with a pharmaceutical company that will allow it to manufacture ingredients used in antiretroviral (ARV) drugs locally.
Published : 20/02/2012
New booklets providing important information for people living with HIV from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have just been released by AFAO in four languages, adding to the existing booklet written in Plain English.
Published : 08/02/2012
In this submission AFAO articulates concerns about discrimination against people with HIV in relation to migration, and discrimination on the grounds of sexuality and gender identity in relation to employment.
Published : 06/02/2012
the 13th International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) World Congress will be held in Australia for the first time in over 14 years. IUSTI 2012 will also incorporate the 2012 Australasian Sexual Health Conference, followed by the 24th ASHM HIV/AIDS Conference
Published : 02/02/2012
International activists are calling on the Indian government to defend generic HIV medicines in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations at the EU-India summit in Delhi on 10 February.
Published : 02/02/2012
AFAO and RESULTS International have issued an urgent call to the Australian Government to bring forward its financial commitment to the Global Fund, or risk jeopardizing crucial advances in HIV treatment and prevention.
Published : 27/01/2012
HIV Futures Seven - the national survey for people living with HIV - is open for responses until February 27. Share your experiences at: www.hivfutures.org.au
Published : 20/01/2012
A Canadian developed preventative HIV vaccine has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to commence human clinical trials in January 2012.
Published : 23/12/2011
Latest HIV surveillance figures from New Zealand show a reduction in new HIV diagnosis among men who have sex with men.
Published : 23/12/2011
Two new international research studies find that, in the absence of other risk factors, people on antiretroviral therapy have the same mortality risk as individuals in the general population.
Published : 19/12/2011
The Victorian AIDS Council/Gay Men’s Health Centre (VAC/GMHC) elected writer and policy researcher Kirsty Machon as its first female President on 8 December.
Published : 16/12/2011
If so, researchers at NCHSR would like to hear about your experiences of online chat and hooking up.
Published : 13/12/2011
Lack of money and unwillingness by donors to invest more in AIDS, TB and malaria has prompted the Global Fund to cancel funding for scaling up programs until 2014.
Published : 01/12/2011
Melbourne has been selected to host the world’s largest HIV/AIDS Conference in July 2014.
Published : 30/11/2011
A new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that 2011 was a game changing year for the AIDS response.
Published : 23/11/2011
AFAO’s first ever video animation examines HIV-related stigma among gay men and calls for more communication with sexual partners.
Published : 23/11/2011
NSW’s leading community-based HIV/AIDS organisation says the trial represents an important advance in the HIV prevention response in NSW and across Australia.
Published : 22/11/2011
In the lead up to World AIDS Day (December 1st) the WA AIDS Council has launched a new campaign to address the issue of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination.
Published : 21/11/2011
Jenny Kelsall presented AIVL's discussion paper, "Double Jeopardy: Older Injecting Opioid Users in Australia" at the AFAO AGM in November 2011. The paper documents the existence and experience of injecting drug users aged 40 years or more in Australia.
Published : 16/11/2011
AFAO is pleased to announce the appointment of new President, Ian Rankin and new Vice President, Willie Rowe, on 4 November.
Published : 10/11/2011
The latest phase of this sexual health information campaign is about to be launched around the country.
Published : 07/11/2011
The Commonwealth HIV/AIDS Action Group has called for the immediate release of the full Eminent Persons Group report, "A Commonwealth of the People – Time for urgent reform", amid concerns the report’s recommendations could be stymied without a full and frank public debate.
Published : 27/10/2011
HIV Futures seven is now open. Futures seven is the seventh national survey of Australian People Living with HIV conducted by the Living with HIV program at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University.
Published : 24/10/2011
Bill Whittaker discusses the implications of the 2011 UN Declaration on HIV/AIDS for the Australian HIV response.
Published : 18/10/2011
The population of people living with HIV in Australia is increasing, yet the numbers of GPs training as community-based HIV medication prescribers may not be enough to replace those retiring.
Published : 10/10/2011
New data released on 27 September in the 2011 Annual HIV Surveillance Report shows that HIV infection in Australia continue to plateau at around 1,000 new infections per year.
Published : 30/09/2011
Key points from the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS are summarised in 'In Focus volume 1', a briefing paper prepared by APCASO with input from AFAO.
Published : 26/09/2011
The 4th revised edition of 'Reporting HIV in Australia: Information for Journalists' is now available. This best-practice guide for journalists includes a language guide, facts, backgrounders and more.
Published : 21/09/2011
The ‘Better to Know’ website is an online information space for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women. The website provides information on STIs, HIV, testing, treatment and a comprehensive list of clinic services.
Published : 19/09/2011
This latest e-health briefing paper outlines some key issues arising out of the Concept of Operations released by Health Minister Roxon in September 2011.
Published : 15/09/2011
AFAO has submitted comments to draft Baseline Study for the National Human Rights Action Plan, which surveys the experience and protection of human rights in Australia.
Published : 14/09/2011
This paper provides an overview of the prosecution of Michael Neal for knowingly infecting people with HIV, and analysis of the outcomes of his appeal.
Published : 01/09/2011
In August 2011 AFAO released an online best practice guide in HIV and sexual health promotion for workers in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sexual health
Published : 30/08/2011
On 3 August AFAO made a submission to the Personally controlled electronic health records system (PCEHR) legislation issues paper. This followed on from other policy work by AFAO throughout 2010.
Published : 18/08/2011
AFAO welcomes the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, agreed to in June 2011 by the 192 member countries of the United Nations.
Published : 04/08/2011
Two new studies show that taking antiretrovirals as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduces HIV transmission by up to 73% among heterosexual couples. The trials, which were both conducted in Africa, are the first to demonstrate the efficacy of PrEP among heterosexuals. Women and men were equally protected.
Published : 14/07/2011
New public health recommendations released by the World Health Organisation on 21 June aim to help policymakers and doctors scale-up access to treatment and prevention services for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men and transgender people.
Published : 23/06/2011
On Friday 17 June, the UN Human Rights Council passed a historic resolution addressing human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Published : 22/06/2011
In June 2011 AFAO released Strategic Directions 2011-2015, which will shape the organisations community response to HIV over the next five years.
Published : 20/06/2011
The 2011 United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS was adopted High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York on 10 June. The declaration is the first General Assembly statement on AIDS to explicitly include men who have sex with men (MSM).
Published : 16/06/2011
AFAO believes Australia’s migration legislation, regulations and policies must be reformed to remove mandatory HIV testing. AFAO has recently released several policy documents supporting this position.
Published : 14/06/2011All content contained within this website is copyright © AFAO, unless otherwise stated. Content may be reproduced for non-commercial, personal research or educational purposes free of charge, provided the following citation is made: "Reprinted from [name of publication], published by the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations". Contact AFAO regarding other uses of content.
