Right to sound AIDS alarm

IN marking World AIDS Day (December 1), Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer rang alarm bells about the surge of HIV/AIDS in Australia and on our doorstep, but who’s listening? ("We must unite against AIDS in the Asia-Pacific”, 2-3/12)

With about 1000 new infections in Australia this year, predominantly involving homosexuals, and no mainstream HIV awareness campaigns plus soaring sexual disease, one must wonder how many heterosexual Australians have HIV and don’t know it.

In Papua New Guinea the situation is parlous. We are probably Australia’s tiniest AIDS-care charity and we have supplied food, adult nappies and the first bed screens to the grim and unofficial HIV ward in the Port Moresby General Hospital. What is that saying? They urgently need significant help and an awareness campaign compatible with their culture, working from the bottom up rather than the top down.

Brian Haill
President, The Australian AIDS Fund
Frankston, Vic