DECEMBER 1ST IS WORLD AIDS DAY

It is not a celebration but rather a day of awareness and reflection.

It is a perfect time to boost awareness, increase funding, combat stigma, improve education and kick-start prevention strategies with special focus on nations with high incidence of HIV-AIDS.

In Sydney, a trial is finally set to begin on new rapid testing for HIV - already widely available in Europe, New Zealand and the United States - with hopes that if adopted, it will encourage more men to be tested more often for HIV. World AIDS Day will also see the launch of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation's (AFAO) "Fear Less Live More" campaign in a push to educate the community about people living with HIV. AFAO executive director Rob Lake told SX that while the future was looking brighter in many areas - there was still a need for caution. "The key message of World AIDS Day in particular is that that HIV is still here," he said. "It's an important message for people who might be at risk and not testing or able to access regular tests. We need people to keep thinking of HIV - and of course the importance of wearing a condom to stop the spread of the disease. Here in Australia we are already seeing the benefit of good access to treatment for people with HIV and also in terms of the impact of treatment on transmissions. Thats a very positive thing, we are getting close to no deaths from AIDS in Australia and that's amazing when you look back 15 years ago. We are also looking at improved health for people living with HIV."

Read more: World AIDS Day 2011 | MedIndia http://www.medindia.net/news/healthinfocus/World-AIDS-Day-2011-94138-1.htm#ixzz1fDIewV2z

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