Australia’s First Peoples – Where are we in the Epidemic? Success, Emerging Issues and the Same Persistent Issues.
Efforts need to be maintained however to ensure an escalated epidemic does not occur, particularly among heterosexual people, especially women, and people who inject drugs. in addition new ideas are required as we enter a new era of HIV prevention within the context of “treatment as prevention”, and “getting to zero new infections”. Given that there are many factors that heighten HIV risk for Indigenous Australians, such as reported higher rates of IDU and STIs, lower outcomes in many social determinants of health and the proximity of the Torres Strait Islands to PNG, it is important that prevention efforts are sustained outside of biomedical propositions such as treatment as prevention.
Further work is required to understand risk and newer issues in HIV. For example, with regard to ‘treatment as prevention’ and ‘getting to zero’, very little is known about the treatment levels of indigenous people living with HIV nor the amount of HIV testing occurring in Indigenous communities. This presentation will highlight the prevention efforts in Indigenous communities that have contributed to success in maintaining a stable epidemic as well as highlight emerging issues that increase the vulnerability of Indigenous Australian communities and where gaps exist in moving forward in the next chapter of HIV in the Australian context.
