30 November 2009

The Governor General Quentin Bryce will mark the 21st anniversary of World AIDS Day tomorrow (Tuesday 1 December) by visiting a health promotion facility in Sydney for disadvantaged people with HIV.

Located in the inner-city suburb of Waterloo, The Luncheon Club is one of the many projects, programs and services provided by ACON, Australia’s largest community-based HIV/AIDS organisation. The facility is co-managed by HIV/AIDS charity the Bobby Goldsmith foundation.

ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill says he hopes the vice-regal visit will help people understand that HIV is still a major health issue in NSW, across the country and all over the world. “This year is the 21st anniversary of World AIDS Day, a significant milestone which generally marks a coming of age,” Mr Parkhill says, “and over the last two decades, we’ve done a lot of growing up in relation to HIV/AIDS.

“Life-saving medical advances have eased the horror of the early years of the epidemic. Also the HIV partnership between government, research and community organisations here in NSW has ensured that our state is one of the only places in world where HIV transmission rates have remained stable for over 10 years.

“However, over 10,000 people in NSW are living with HIV and an average of at least one new infection is diagnosed in NSW every day. And despite the improved treatments, many of these people are financially and socially disadvantaged by their need for complex and ongoing support.

“The reality is that HIV/AIDS remains a major health issue in NSW, as it does throughout Australia and all over the world. 21 years on, helping prevent new HIV infections remains the most important work we do here at ACON. However, it remains the work of everyone else in our community as well because working together, both locally and globally, is the only way we can stop the spread of HIV and overcome HIV discrimination,” he says.

Mr Parkhill says 21 years later, condoms and lube are still the most effective way to prevent HIV transmission. “So on World AIDS Day this year, we’re asking people to protect themselves and their partners by using condoms when having sex. We’re also asking people to never share injecting equipment, to get tested regularly for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and to be informed and talk about HIV/AIDS.”

Mr Parkhill says World AIDS Day is also an opportunity to remember the 35 million people around the world who live with HIV and the 30 million people who have died from an AIDS-related illness. “We also remember their mothers and fathers, their brothers and sisters, their partners and their children, their friends and their carers. This is because World AIDS Day is also a day of remembrance for these often unsung heroes of the epidemic.”

What, when, where?

What: Visit to The Luncheon Club by the Governor-General

When: Tuesday 1 December 2009, 2:30pm

Where: 77 Kellick St, Waterloo, Sydney

NB!: All media need to register their interest in attending so the Governor-General’s office can be informed prior to the event. Please see below for contact details.

A full list of World AIDS Day events being presented or supported by ACON is available on the ACON website: www.acon.org.au

Find out more

Download: Governor General Quentin Bryce Address on World AIDS Day

Web: ACON Flickr photo set