Alexander Downer: We must unite against AIDS
in the Asia-Pacific
HIV must be checked and addressed in the region
as well as in Australia, writes Alexander Downer
December 02, 2006
IT is 25 years since the human immunodeficiency virus registered
as a mysterious but serious global health issue. Since then the
real identity of this disease has become clear, but as we marked
World AIDS Day yesterday a cure remained frustratingly out of
reach. New infections continue and nowhere is this more evident
than in the Asia-Pacific region where 8.6 million people live
with the virus.
During the past 12 months there were close to one million new
infections in Asia.
Three-quarters of people living with HIV in the Pacific reside
in Papua New Guinea, where an estimated 2 per cent of the adult
population is infected.
If not checked, the rapid spread of HIV in the Asia-Pacific will
do enormous harm to individuals and increasingly pose significant
threats to communities and, in some cases, whole countries.
There will be more orphans, fewer productive workers and an unprecedented
demand on health systems. This in a region where about 1.9 billion
people live on less than $2 a day. Australia is acutely aware
of the need to reverse infection trends and has committed $600
million to a suite of prevention and treatment programs. Australia
has taken a leadership role in the region, working with political,
business and community leaders to meet the threat of HIV and AIDS.
Australia's own highly successful response to HIV-AIDS has been
innovative and comprehensive. The lessons we have learned during
the past 25 years shape our support for other countries in the
region that have yet to subdue this pernicious disease. It's true
that there is no silver bullet solution in the form of preventative
vaccine for HIV or a cure for AIDS. But there are informed approaches
to prevention and advances in treatment. Successes in prevention
and providing treatment and care on a large scale are possible
in the region.
During the past 10 years strong leadership and significant domestic
investment in prevention through national responses have resulted
in substantial reductions in the rates of HIV in Thailand and
Cambodia. Thailand has also succeeded in providing treatment to
at least 50 per cent of those in need. In the past three years,
Vietnam and China have escalated their efforts to implement prevention
campaigns.
However, as the epidemic continues to outpace the combined efforts
of countries and global institutions, Australia stands by its
long-term commitment to make a significant contribution to the
global fight. To mark this year's World AIDS Day, I announced
new programs in the Asia-Pacific region worth $215million. The
funding will enable a doubling of our program in Burma, Vietnam
and two southern provinces in China and will include Cambodia,
Laos and The Philippines.
Our assistance will focus on helping local authorities reduce
the likelihood of HIV infection among injecting drug users.
In PNG, which has one of the worst epidemics in the region, Australia
is more than doubling its efforts during the next five years to
support education and awareness, counselling and care, improve
clinical services and surveillance, and strengthen the capacity
of local organisations. We have already helped train 620 health
workers in the management of sexually transmitted infections and
1400 counsellors to increase testing for HIV.
We have helped set up 17 community care centres for people living
with the virus and assisted with the framing of legislation to
ensure the rights of these people are protected. We have even
enlisted the support of Australia's elite footballers to travel
to PNG to use their influence to promote safe sex.
In other parts of the region, we are working with local authorities
to strengthen their capacity to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS
in ways that respond to local conditions and take into account
the way the epidemic is being spread. For example, in Vietnam,
where the epidemic is largely driven by injecting drug use, we
have been able to share the lessons and know-how we developed
in dealing with HIV in Australia. In The Philippines and Cambodia,
we have provided the expertise to enable each of these countries
to draft and implement legislation to protect the rights of people
living with HIV.
In Xinjiang, China, our work with the local Muslim imams to inform
and support affected communities has been recognised by the World
Health Organisation as world's best practice.
As part of Australia's efforts to support the international goal
of universal access to anti-retroviral treatment for AIDS, Australia's
aid program is supporting the Clinton Foundation's work in China,
Vietnam and PNG. We have also pledged $75 million to the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as part of our overall
$600 million commitment to fight HIV-AIDS in the region. But our
support for the Global Fund doesn't stop at money; we are working
on the ground in countries in our region to help make the Global
Fund grants work better.
Just as there is no silver bullet, there is no single response
to HIV-AIDS. But motivating leadership to drive successful national
responses to HIV is probably the single most important ingredient
in any effective HIV campaign. Political leadership is critical,
but so is the leadership of other parts of society. Australian
businesses must be congratulated for the work they are doing through
the Asia-Pacific Business Coalition on HIV-AIDS. Started this
year and headed by Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson, this coalition
is getting greater private-sector involvement and commitment to
the fight against HIV-AIDS throughout the Asia-Pacific.
World AIDS Day is a day to remember those who have died and those
who live with the virus. In developing countries, poverty creates
the perfect conditions for the spread of the disease. Illiteracy
and the often low social status of women make ideal accomplices.
Australia provides leadership, funding and support in the fight
against HIV. But ultimately it is up to the leaders of individual
countries to make the decisions and take the actions that are
needed to defeat AIDS.
Alexander Downer is Foreign Affairs Minister.
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