Positive Speakers Come Out in Support of PrEP

As part of the #approvePrEPdownunder campaign advocating for the approval of Pre
Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for use in Australia, the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC) has released a clip online
featuring community leaders living with HIV delivering a strong message - if PrEP had been available, they
would have never acquired HIV.
“Coming from community leaders with lived experiences as HIV positive spanning over three decades, it’s
a moving testament to the fact that if this technology had been available, these people would not be living
with HIV today,” said VAC CEO Simon Ruth.
Living Positive Victoria CEO Brent Allan is featured in the clip and spoke to the importance of people living
with HIV (PLHIV) in advocating for PrEP to be approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
“This video places PLHIV where they need to be - championing those strategies which we know make a
difference in HIV prevention,” he said. “PLHIV have always been central and vital in HIV prevention. Our
voices are pivotal in bringing this epidemic to an end.”
David Menadue has been a longstanding AIDS activist in Australia having been diagnosed in 1984.
“PrEP will have an increasingly important role as a method to prevent HIV transmission,” he said. “As the
science about its safety becomes even clearer, as Governments agree to subsidise its cost, and as society
appreciates its value (rather than stigmatizing those who use it), it will have a profound effect on decreasing
the numbers of new diagnoses and helping to End HIV.”
“PrEP is an incredible advancement in the fight against HIV because for the first time, biomedical prevention
isn’t just the responsibility of the HIV positive person,” added Nic Holas, HIV Advocate/co-founder of The
Institute of Many (TIM). “Now, HIV negative people can enjoy the same control of their sexual health that
HIV positive people have had available to them for nearly 20 years.”
“I hope the message in this video reaches anybody who is, or has the potential to be, affected by HIV,” said
VAC Board Member John Manwaring. “Whether it’s a negative person at risk of contracting it, a health care
professional who is skeptical of the merits of PrEP, or a politician is unaware of its profound benefits and
potential, I hope this video prompts them to pause and think about their role in preventing HIV, and how
they can contribute to the end of new transmissions by 2020.”
JOY 94.9 radio personality Dean Beck, goes further with a call to action prompted by his recent lived
experience with HIV.
“It took a decade for Australian government authorities to approve HIV rapid testing. In a country that
professes to have the world’s best health care system, that inaction is reprehensible and negligent in the
extreme. Having successfully used PEP twice to stay negative, I closely followed the international trials and
roll-out of PrEP in the USA. Had it been available in Australia I would have been on it,” he said. “Whilst
my recent HIV positive diagnosis means it is too late for me, it is essential that all men who have sex with
men wanting PrEP should have access to it. PrEP is an essential tool for stopping the spread of HIV and its
inclusion on the PBS is vital for the future health and well-being of my community.”