AusAID HIV Strategy

The Australian Government aid agency, AusAID released a new HIV strategy, 'Intensifying the response: Halting the spread of HIV' on World Health Day in April 2009.

According to the strategy, the goal of Australia international development assistance to the HIV epidemic is to make a significant and sustained effort to achieve the MDG target of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015 by assisting partner counties to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

This will be delivered through focusing on six priorities: Intensifying HIV prevention; Optimising the role of health services within HIV responses; Strengthening coordination and capacity to scale up HIV responses; Reviewing legal and policy frameworks to enable effective responses to HIV; building the evidence base for an effective HIV response; and demonstrating and fostering leadership on HIV.

Part of the strategy will promote "stronger linkages between services for HIV and services for tuberculosis, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and other blood-borne viruses, as appropriate for the local context".

You can download a copy of the full report, background information and a media release from the AusAID website.