Parts of Australia are approaching what experts are calling "the end of Aids". HIV numbers are continuing on a downward trend and we're closing in on virtual elimination of the virus. That would make Australia a world leading example.
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00:00We're aiming for virtual elimination of transmission, not the virus.
00:05I think it's important to remember that there's nearly 29,000 people living with HIV in Australia.
00:10In the absence of a cure, we're not eliminating HIV.
00:13What we're doing is reducing down to very low levels, new infections of HIV in Australia.
00:18So we're aiming for a 90% reduction by 2030, so we still have further work to do.
00:24We know there's been great successes in some areas, particularly among gay and bisexual
00:27men, where we've seen a 64% reduction among Australian-born gay and bisexual men, but
00:32that hasn't been experienced equally.
00:34So we know for people reporting heterosexual contact, there have been slight increases,
00:39similarly for people born overseas.
00:40So if we're going to achieve that 90%, we really need to sustain what we know works,
00:45but also refocus and intensify our efforts to ensure that those gains are being experienced
00:50equally across Australia.