Australia Set To Become First Nation To End HIV

Australia stays on course to become one of the first countries to end HIV epidemic, according to data released Monday at an international conference on HIV Science.

The report was presented at the 12th International Conference on HIV Science of the International AIDS Society (IAS).

Andrew Grulich of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales and member of the Governing Council of IAS presented the findings, citing progress in Inner Sydney, where HIV was once most prevalent in Australia.

Inner Sydney has reduced new HIV acquisitions by 88 percent, meaning it may be the first locality in the world to reach the UN target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, says the report.

The announcement comes just one week after the Kirby Institute released national surveillance data showing that new diagnoses of HIV among gay and bisexual men in Australia has fallen by 57 percent over the past decade.

“The extraordinary success in HIV prevention in the gay neighbourhoods of Sydney is due to decades of government leadership,” Grulich said. These numbers show us that virtual elimination of HIV transmissions is possible. Now, we need to look closely at what has worked in Sydney, and adapt it for other cities and regions across Australia.”

Skye McGregor of the Kirby Institute presented a study showing that Australia is on track to achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, which call for 95 percent of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 95 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 95 percent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy to achieve viral suppression by 2025.

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