Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On World AIDS Day tomorrow, Tuesday 1 December, we stand in solidarity with the people in Australia and around the world living with HIV and AIDS. As we recommit ourselves to ending this epidemic we also remember the friends and loved ones we've lost along the way. We also recall the tremendous efforts of peer educators, healthcare professionals, researchers and scientists in developing treatment and prevention regimes which have drastically improved the lives of people living with HIV. Thankfully, due to the availability of antiretroviral therapy, HIV is now in most cases a manageable chronic condition rather than a fatal diagnosis. However, there remains significant work to be done to end the stigma that too many people living with HIV still face and to ensure that everyone can get the care they deserve. Of the 38 million people worldwide living with HIV, only 25.4 million are accessing antiretroviral therapy—accounting for only 67 per cent of people living with HIV.

It has been a difficult year in 2020, with all of us confronted with the harsh realities of illness in one way or another. The COVID-19 pandemic, a pandemic of another communicable disease, has had a devastating impact on global health security. Whilst the global death toll from COVID-19 now stands at around 1.4 million, the imminence of vaccines means that an end to this communicable disease is now in sight. The other significant communicable disease, HIV-AIDS, still kills some 950,000 people each and every year, year after year, with a global death toll of around 32 million. That's why this year's theme of World AIDS Day is now more than ever a call to refocus our work alongside the risks of COVID-19.

As the UNAIDS 2020 report, Seizing the moment, stated that the COVID-19 pandemic could delay progress to meet international targets by up to a decade—a worrying forecast if we are to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 as we hope. However, with the right focus and the right resources the virtual elimination of HIV is within our reach, with the number of new diagnoses progressively declining to its lowest level in nearly 20 years. Nonetheless, our work is far from complete. We are not seeing a decline in the rates of transmission amongst First Nations people, trans and gender diverse people and other emerging high-risk population groups. These communities are part of the solution to reducing transmission, and we must develop innovative solutions to reach these populations. This also means implementing services aimed at populations who find it difficult to interact with our healthcare system, such as those living in Australia who do not have access to Medicare. In Australia, in particular, gay and bisexual men continue to bear the burden of Australia's HIV epidemic, and ongoing health education and awareness among this population group is needed.

Globally, COVID-19 has underscored how vital it is that Australia support our friends in the Pacific towards their goals of eliminating transmission of HIV-AIDS. Almost six million people live with HIV in the Asia-Pacific region and, with COVID-19 threatening access to healthcare services, it's more important than ever that we protect the health and prosperity of our region. Australia is working closely with longstanding partners like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNAIDS to invest in HIV prevention the Indo-Pacific.

This year's theme also reminds us of the importance of community, from providing supportive networks to ensure that no-one is left behind to encouraging people to get tested and connecting them with treatment. Advocates and grassroots organisations change lives for the better, offering invaluable peer-to-peer education while fighting for sustainable and reliable services for people living with HIV.

Australia's bipartisan approach to tackling this health issue has been impressive and instrumental in the fight against HIV-AIDS, I commend the work of the Parliamentary Friends for Action on HIV/AIDS, Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmitted Infections and its chairs, Tim Wilson, the member for Goldstein; and Senator Louise Pratt, for their efforts in bringing this to the forefront of public consciousness. This issue is bigger than politics and it will take efforts from all sides of politics to see meaningful improvement. I encourage everyone to raise awareness about HIV-AIDS and challenge the misconceptions that lead to stigma. Together we can end this global epidemic and ensure that everyone has the care and support they need to live full and healthy lives.

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