Advocacy Corner at the ASHM Conference

Ryan Snaith from Kenya Aid

An Advocacy Corner in the Exhibition Hall was a new addition to ASHM's (Australasian Society for HIV Medicine) HIV/AIDS Conference in Melbourne this year.

The corner, organised by AFAO, created a space to discuss the work and issues of the HIV community sector, both here in Australia and internationally. There were several great discussions held throughout the week, two of which I was lucky enough to attend as host.

Australian public health experts discuss HIV and TB on new online news channel

MSF.TV panel participants (L-R): Bill Bowtell (AO), Dr Suman
Majumdar, James Gilling, and Assoc. Prof Daniel O'Brien

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has  announced the launch of  MSF.TV, Australia's first online humanitarian news channel.

The channel  will include updates, news items, interviews, documentaries and live debates that explore medical and humanitarian issues relating to the work of MSF.

Indonesian HIV workers visit Australia

Yanti Susanti, ALAF delegate, speaking

at the ALAF Program launch at AFAO

On 18 September, a delegation of 11 Indonesian HIV sector workers arrived in Australia to participate in an education program about Australia's HIV response.

The delegates are being hosted by AFAO with funding support through the AusAID Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships (ALAF) program.

AFAO's message of appreciation for Healthy Communities

Cuts to the funding of Queensland Association of Healthy Communities (QAHC) sexual health, HIV and LGBT drug & aclohol programs take effect from Friday 17 August. 

The organisation will lose 22 staff, including all staff of the sexual health program, and close its Maroochydore office.

A Labour Rights Approach to HIV and Sex Work: Working with Sex Workers to Protect Human Rights, Prevent and Eliminate Violence and Sexual Harassment and Promote Equal Access to Protection Schemes

Session on a report on the labour rights of
sex workers in Laos, funded by the ILO

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations peak body on labour, hosted panel discussions at the IAS conference to explore options for building and maintaining successful partnerships with sex worker organisations to improve sex workers’ access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support services and to address more directly underlying causes of vulnerability such as workplace safety, fair pay and conditions, protection of rights.

HIV in Asia - Transforming the agenda for 2012 and beyond

Members of Alliance India before the
conference. Photo courtesy of AIDS 2012.

The HIV in Asia - Transforming the agenda for 2012 and beyond report into the effectiveness of HIV response in Asia was officially launched on Tuesday night at AIDS 2012. The report was co-commissioned by AusAID and UNAIDS.

Peter Godwin, one of the authors, explained that the report reviewed several countries across the region, and conducted over 100 interviews.

Key findings included the need to re-assess the model of the HIV response as it currently operates across much of Asia.

24 July: Tuesday (Post) Exposure

Edwina Wright and Dean Murphy

For me, Tuesday was particularly exciting because there were many sessions on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. In anticipation of this I breakfasted with Edwina Wright, ASHM president, with whom I had been working to develop a proposal to study how PrEP might be implemented in Australia.

A new terminology has entered PrEP discourse, which relates to 'seasonal' use. Seasonal use refers to using PrEP for limited periods—months or weeks—at times of greatest risk or need. Such sporadic use raises concerns about drug resistance and onward transmission of drug resistance. So there is a need for PrEP users to be aware of the symptoms of HIV seroconversion.