Fagmedia.com Calls for the New Federal Government to end the  ‘single desk monopoly’ approach of of HIV/AIDS Prevention!

Fagmedia.com calls for HIV/AIDS Prevention programs and strategies in Australia to be implemented via a tender process to generate ideas outside of the current "single desk monopoly" of HIV prevention. Increased competition will introduce new ideas and strategies to reinvigorate the sector. The benefits of increased competition will provide Governments with the opportunity to award contracts on an ‘as needs basis’ to “provide the best means of ensuring that the economy's resources are put to their best use by encouraging enterprise and efficiency, and widening choice”. (from: ttp://www.dti.gov.uk/bbf/competition/index.html)

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The Australian Newspaper, December 1, 2006, published a statement by the (now former) Federal (Liberal) Health Minister, Mr Tony Abbott, who said that over the past few years there has been a 40% increase in the rate of new transmissions of HIV/AIDS and called for a re-think of HIV Policy.

Fagmedia.com shares the concern expressed by the (now former) Federal Liberal Health Minister and applauds his call for a re-think on HIV-Policy in Australia. This is not the first time that concerns have been expressed about the direction and policies being implemented by AIDS Councils in Australia. In 2006, The Sydney Star Observer, SX Magazine (Sydney), Melbourne Star Newspaper and OutinPerth Newspapers contained many letters that expressed concern about the methods, practices and the capacities of AIDS Councils to ‘do the job of HIV prevention’.

It is clear that current HIV policy in each state amounts to ‘a single desk monopoly’ in the form of an AIDS Council in each state. The evidence of the recent rises in HIV/AIDS transmissions demonstrates that this ‘single desk monopoly’ approach, is not working. There is a very real danger that the HIV/AIDS epidemic will increase beyond Australia’s ‘capacity to cope’ unless we reverse the current trends. Fagmedia.com calls for the new federal government to broaden the current approach so that new innovative multi dimensional campaigns can be development that address the changing face of the HIV epidemic.

"It is time we stopped burying our heads in the sand and recognised the causative links between drug use and HIV transmission and developed campaigns to address the seriously rapidly rising problem of crystal in the Australian Community! Crystal is not a "problem" that we can ignore and it will go away". stated the President of Fagmedia.com.

Fagmedia.com is a leading Queer Think Tank in Australia. Fagmedia.com demonstrates that civil society does have the capacity to adapt through non violent discourse to a diverse range of human expression with peaceful coexistence.

For more information contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or visit http://fagmedia.com

Oops, we dont want to kill cupid... but!