ACON has called for more government funding for HIV prevention in the wake of a 5 per cent increase in new HIV diagnoses nationally.

As reported last week (SX 399), the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR) announced that 1,051 new cases of HIV were diagnosed in Australia in 2007, a 5 per cent increase on 2006.

The NCHECR Annual Surveillance Report shows that in NSW there were 409 new HIV notifications in 2007, which represented 6.2 HIV diagnoses for every 100,000 people. By contrast, Victoria’s rate was 5.5, Queensland’s was 4.6, and both South Australia and Western Australia recorded 3.6 new HIV cases per 100,000.

However, NSW recorded only a slight increase on 2006 figures (381 people, or six diagnoses per 100,000) and the five per cent national increase was driven mainly by other states and territories.

Additionally, ACON CEO Stevie Clayton said that new diagnoses did not represent new infections: “While NSW experienced a small increase in new HIV notifications during 2007 ... this rise was attributable to an increase in new diagnoses rather than new infections,” she said in a media statement.

Clayton added her voice to that of Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) President Don Baxter, who last week stated that current investments in Australian HIV programs, especially from the Federal Government, were insufficient.

While Clayton commended the NSW government for its commitment to HIV prevention, she warned: “It is important that NSW’s current financial crisis does not lead it to consider the false economy of squeezing HIV prevention efforts.”

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