Julie Carmichael, Communications Manager
14 October 2009
Kirby calls for change to global AIDS strategy as the pandemic enters its third phase
Closing the gap globally and locally: HIV/AIDS control for the most vulnerable
Embargoed until 15 October
Former High Court judge and social justice advocate the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG has called for
better strategies to curb the spread of AIDS and HIV in the Asia Pacific.
During his presentation at the 2009 Menzies School of Health Research Oration in Darwin, Kirby said
that AIDS was far from over and that the pandemic was entering its ‘third phase’.
“After identification and alert to the disease in the early 1980’s and then bold moves to provide anti-
retroviral drugs (ARVs) worldwide, the global strategy in AIDS now has to change.”
“On latest figures, 2.7 million people become infected with HIV each year, many in the Asia-Pacific
region, and in times of global financial crisis such as now, it is unlikely that the world will continue to
fund expensive ARVs for an ever-growing population of infected people.”
“Without a cure or an effective vaccine, HIV is a hugely expensive pandemic to deal with, yet the only
strategies of prevention that have been known to succeed involve radical efforts to change behaviour.
Kirby went on to say that these changes in behaviour include reaching out to the gay community, sex
workers, drug users and other vulnerable groups such as Indigenous people, dependent women,
refugees and prisoners and that to alter behaviour patterns in this way will require reform of the law.
“Developing countries at the forefront of the epidemic resist such reforms for religious or cultural
reasons so you are back to square one,” Kirby said.
“The pandemic has reached a critical moment and the question now is will humanity have the wisdom
to grasp the essential lessons of HIV/AIDS transmission?”
In his remarks, Michael Kirby paid tribute to the cutting edge research of the Menzies School of
Health Research into sexually transmitted infections and emphasised the importance of research for
the global, regional and national policy to respond to HIV/AIDS.
“AIDS is far from over” Kirby concluded. “This clash between what is needed and what is likely to be
adopted is the essential dilemma that we now face.”
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Ends -
Media Contact:
Julie Carmichael, Julie.carmichael@menzies.edu.au, 0429 916758
An embargoed copy or Mr Kirby’s speech is available from Julie.carmichael@menzies.edu.au
0429 916758 on 15 October (embargoed until delivery at 6.30pm on 15 October)
Julie Carmichael, Communications Manager
NOTES TO EDITOR
About Michael Kirby
Michael Kirby was a member of the inaugural Global Commission on AIDS of the World Health Organisation in
1988. Since then, he has been actively engaged in issues concerning the pandemic. Currently, he serves on
the UNAIDS Reference Panel on HIV and Human Rights. Until February 2009, he was a Judge of the High
Court of Australia. Recently, he attended and addressed the ICAAP conference on AIDS in Bali, Indonesia,
About Menzies
Menzies School of Health Research is Australia's leader in Indigenous and tropical health research. With its
head office in Darwin in the Northern Territory, Menzies has been conducting its ground-breaking research
across Australia and beyond for almost 25 years. Our work is helping to discover better ways to prevent,
diagnose and treat disease, tackle the social determinants of health and deliver better health services. Our
researchers are helping to break the cycle of ill-health facing many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Sexual health research at Menzies
Development and trial of Key Performance Indicators For Sexually Transmitted Infection Control In
Clinical Settings with High Bacterial Prevalence
A review of the literature has revealed a lack of performance indicators of STI control relevant to settings
with a high prevalence of bacterial STI. This project aims to identify, develop, trial and endorse a core set
of key performance indicators (KPI) relevant to STI control in the NT. This will improve monitoring of STI
control programs allowing comparison between regions and services, and inform the development of a NT
sexual health strategy.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) in the Primary Health Care Setting: An Investigation Of Clinical
Management.
In Central Australia there is a strong perception that PID is often misdiagnosed and treated as a urinary
tract infection. This study involves undertaking a case note audit to review current clinical practice in
relation to the management of women of reproductive age who present to remote community clinics in
Central Australia with signs and symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease and/or urinary tract infection.
Secondly, a staff questionnaire will investigate the perceived barriers and facilitators to implementing
recommended guidelines for the management of PID. This two-fold approach will provide health services
with quality data that can inform what improvements are required in the care that women are currently
receiving when presenting with signs and symptoms of PID.
STRIVE: STI in Remote communities: ImproVed & Enhanced primary health care
STRIVE is a community-based, multi-state (NT, WA, QLD), randomised community trial, comparing ‘best
practice’ STI care in primary health care services to standard STI care, over a three-year period. STRIVE
commenced in 2009 and is currently undertaking extensive consultation with communities and key
stakeholders. During this year, it is anticipated that 21 communities will be recruited to participate in the
trial, and undergo preparatory procedures for the trial. At the start of each of the next three years, seven
of the communities will be randomly assigned to receive an intervention of clinical review and support
aimed at enhancing service delivery, so that by the start of year four, all 21 communities will be receiving
the intervention.
Culture, Context and Risk: socio-cultural influences on the sexual health of young people
In addition to the high rates of STIs among Indigenous youth, there are a further three important concerns
when considering their sexual health: a lack of information; poor access and utilisation of health services;
and limited understanding of their sexual decision-making. This study is investigating the sexual
behaviour and sexual decision making in the context of the everyday life experience and aspirations of
Indigenous young people in the NT, WA and SA.
NEWS 
