Anti-HIV funding 'is not enough'
Cath Hart

THE $9.8 million earmarked for a campaign to slow the spread of sexually transmitted diseases would have little impact on HIV infection rates, AIDS campaigners warned.

The four-year program announced in the budget, includes funding for a media campaign and further training for GPs to diagnose and manage sexually transmitted infections.

The new program, 20 years after the provocative Grim Reaper advertisements were screened across the nation, comes after a 41 per cent rise in the number of new HIV cases between 2000 and 2005.

It also follows high-profile cases in Adelaide and Melbourne of men allegedly trying to infect others with HIV.

Australian AIDS Fund president Brian Haill said the funding for the program was insufficient. He called on the federal Government to admit that the rising number of HIV infections represented a significant failure of policy.

"It's less than $2.5million a year spread across the Australian continent," Mr Haill said.

"On behalf of the Australian AIDS Fund, I would have to say that the sum is truly insignificant.

"They would have even been better to say we're really not getting anywhere with the AIDS prevention program."

Mr Haill said the Government needed to rethink its approach to combating the spread of HIV-AIDS.

"There would be more value for money if the Government had opted to introduce a national sexual education program for all schools, which rather than dwelling on the body beautiful and the value of relationships, needs to address the ugly side of sex like STDs and HIV," he said.

"It's also about time HIV awareness messages were mainstreamed. They're not much good in a gay magazine in a darkened gay sauna; it's too late then."

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations welcomed the funding.

"We've been encouraging the Government to do a campaign like this, so we were very pleased to see the funding for it in the budget," AFAO spokesman Don Baxter said.

"$10 million is not a lot for a national media campaign, but we think there's a possibility of targeting it to television shows with higher audiences of gay men."

Mr Haill also fired a shot across the bow of the state AIDS councils, questioning their efficacy in light of the rising number of infections.