Mâori Welcomes HIV Prevention And Support Review

Mâori Welcomes HIV Prevention And Support Services Review

INA (Mâori, Indigenous and South Pacific) HIV/AIDS Foundation welcomes the Ministry of Health (MOH) commissioning of the HIV Service Review, with findings to be made public in April 2010.

The goal of the review, says a spokesperson for the MOH is “to ensure that current and future investment contributes towards improving service coverage for people living with HIV and that those services are effective and cost efficient. It’s about informing future decisions in regards to future investment in this area to ensure that funding contributes towards improving service coverage for people who are HIV-positive and that those services are effective and cost-efficient”

INA (Mâori, Indigenous and South Pacific) HIV/AIDS Foundation, who’s services include HIV prevention and support, have been included in the review, along with other service providers, and sexual health services.

Marama Pala – Kaiwhakahaere/Exec Director INA (Ngati Awa), an HIV-positive woman, who welcome’s the review, says. “The face of the AIDS Epidemic has changed in the last 25 years. Because we (people with HIV) are not dying as much due to treatment, we are now communities of people living with HIV, we need better improved and effective HIV support and prevention services for our communities” she stated. “This is especially important as we prepare to enter the fourth decade of HIV with no sign of a cure in sight.”

“Some sectors of the Mâori community are adversely affected by HIV and it is vitally important our support and prevention services continue to be robust and effective in order to capture the changing patterns of the epidemic.”

The review will be conducted by Dr David Miller, clinical psychologist with overseas experience in sexual health programmes with World Health Organisation and UNAIDS. The review will also include New Zealand AIDS Foundation, Body Positive inc., Positive Women inc. and Absolutely Positively Positive (Wellington). Feedback will come from the services themselves and focus groups of service consumers.

ENDS