LEADING HIV ORGANISATIONS WELCOME NEW FEDERAL FUNDING FOR NATIONAL HIV/STI EDUCATION

Two of Australia’s leading HIV organisations have welcomed $1.6 million in new Federal Government funding to educate gay and homosexually active men in Australia about blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections (STIs), particularly HIV.
ACON from NSW and the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC), their respective state’s leading HIV prevention, support and LGBTI health organisations, have been allocated funding following a national tendering process through which ACON and VAC made a joint submission.
The funding will enable ACON and VAC to develop, produce and promote a range of online educational resources for gay men and men who have sex with men, with a particular focus on HIV.
In welcoming the announcement, ACON President Justin Koonin said ACON and VAC are excited to have been given the opportunity to deliver this important national health promotion work.
“It is good to see the Federal Government providing funds to support the work to reduce HIV and STI transmission in Australia. These funds are really important to add to the efforts of jurisdictions and communities who have been working hard to capitalise on the new scientific and technological breakthroughs in this area.
“Men who have sex with men account for over three quarters of all annual HIV diagnoses in Australia and are disproportionally affected by other STIs. With any public health issue, it’s vital that health promotion activities meaningfully engage with the most affected groups and ACON and VAC are committed to providing evidence based, high quality, accessible and culturally appropriate information to help gay men look after the health of themselves and their sexual partners.
For over 30 years ACON and VAC have been proven effective leaders in sexual health promotion, particularly through social media, and both agencies’ campaigns have been used across Australia.
“Our communities are smart and engaged—gay and same-sex attracted men already access and share information about HIV and sexual health online and through social media, so this is just about going where the people are,” said VAC President Chad Hughes.
“Digital technology has been a big part of how both VAC and ACON do health promotion for a long time now, and having a national platform will allow us to utilise that expertise on a much larger scale. First and foremost this is about improving the health and wellbeing of Australians most affected by HIV and STIs.”
“This is a big project, and of course we’ll be working closely with partner organisations across the country. These partnerships are central to how we operate, and our ability to collaborate and cooperate is a strength of Australia’s HIV sector.”
The project is set to commence later this year.