Vast improvement in HIV prevention in Australia

Australian New South Wales has all the chances to achieve UNAIDS goal of HIV elimination by the year 2020. In the first half of this year, men who have sex with men (MSM) were diagnosed with HIV in 40 percent rarely than in the last six years. Such great results had never happened in the region of Australia.

Understanding the importance of testing and preventative measures seem to be one of the most significant reasons to help Australia to achieve UNAIDS goal of HIV elimination by the year 2020. We have just to look at the statistics of HIV tests performed at specific centres for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases for the last year. Men from the MSM communities did HIV tests on 18 percent more often. Many people prefer so-called «home-tests» for their simplicity in use and anonymity.

After the tests results, if they were positive people did not decline to start the treatment process, this factor is also critical to saving the health of individuals newly diagnosed with HIV. More than 85 percent of people who had received an HIV-positive in the last year, started the antiretroviral therapy in half of a year.

PrEP becomes more and more popular all over the World. Using PrEP protects those at high risk of HIV transmission. Only in 2016 more than six thousand men who have sex with men (MSM) participated in the study NSW HIV Strategy 2016-2020 dedicated to HIV prevention. «Virtually eliminate HIV transmission in NSW by 2020 and to Sustain the virtual elimination of HIV transmission in people who inject drugs, sex workers and from mother-to-child» — targets of the study. Only after taking part in the study, the participants get PrEP medicines for free; other users have to bear the costs themselves if they are not participating in a study.