AUSTRALIA PUBLIC-HEALTH RESPONSE TO HIV AND HCV - A ROLE FOR AFFECTEDCOMMUNITIES

This paper identifies a number of the key elements that underpinned th e success of Australia's public health response to minimizing the spre ad of HIV, It is argued that one major factor was the high level of co llaboration between health care professionals and ''affected'' communi ties, such as injecting drug users, sex industry workers and gay men, This collaboration allowed for the negotiation, development and implem entation of the range of innovative HIV initiatives that were ultimate ly responsible for keeping HIV in the injecting drug use and sex indus try to low levels, Despite the central role played by injecting drug u sers and their peer based organizations, the significance of their act ivities has gone largely unacknowledged by senior health bureaucrats a nd politicians, As a consequence, advice from injecting drug users and their peer-based organizations on the current hepatitis C epidemic ha s been largely ignored, Instead of learning from Australia's HIV exper ience and involving these groups in consultation and advisory roles, t he Federal Government has reverted to accepting advice from only estab lished mainstream organizations. It is argued that the success of infe ction control outside mainstream communities, such as among injecting drug users, can most effectively be achieved through the involvement o f these ''affected'' communities, There is a need at the local, nation al and international levels to ensure both the involvement of ''affect ed'' communities and that recognition is given to them for the signifi cant and essential role they play in infection control.