National Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategies 2018-2022
Description
The National Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) and Sexually Transmissible Infections (STI) Strategies 2018-2022 represent a commitment by governments, researchers and health and community organisations to address the impact of BBV and STI on the Australian community from 2018 to 2022.The strategies build upon the achievements and lessons learned from the implementation of the previous strategies.
The strategies address SDG 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages by setting out a direction for Australia’s continuing response to BBV and STI. Each strategy has overarching goals, measurable targets and priority areas which together aim to reduce the transmission on BBV and STI, reduce morbidity and mortality related to BBV and STI and minimise the personal and social impact of BBV and STI.<br />
<br />
The goals and targets outlined in the strategies complement the SDGs, in particular goal 3.3 ‘By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases ‘. More specifically, the Eighth National HIV Strategy has a goal of virtually eliminating HIV transmission in Australia by 2022 and the Hepatitis B and C strategies have the goal of making significant progress towards the 2030 goals of eliminating hepatitis B and C as public health threats. <br />
<br />
Although Australia has been successful in many aspects of the BBV and STI response, the key next step is to ensure we achieve those successes even in the most hard to reach populations, to leave no one behind. <br />
A strategy dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples acknowledges the disproportionate impact and burden of BBV and STI in these populations, and proposes that unique and tailored approaches are needed for the response. Coordinated, comprehensive and sustained actions will be critical in the successful implementation of this strategy, as will ongoing collaboration between communities, organisations and service providers.
A broad range of stakeholders were consulted across Australia, including governments, researchers, health and community organisations and clinicians. Workshops were held in all capital cities, as well as in regional locations to discuss BBV and STI in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples..
Prior to publication, the strategies were endorsed by all Australian health ministers.
The development of the strategies commenced in 2017. The Australian Government acted as the lead on behalf of all governments, and worked to plan and draft the strategies. The Australian Government also managed the endorsement process, which included key government and non-government stakeholders.
The strategies were publicly released on 29 November 2018. The next step is to develop implementation plans and a surveillance and monitoring plan to support the strategies. The implementation plans will outline actions for governments and partners, and will help guide resourcing decisions. The surveillance and monitoring plan will monitor progress against the targets and goals of the strategies.
Under the previous iterations there has been significant progress in the response to BBV and STI, whilst also acknowledging that much more needs to be done.
HIV
Overall, Australia’s HIV prevalence among the general population remains one of the lowest among developed countries. The number of new HIV cases diagnosed each year has remained stable at around 1000 people over the past five years, and dropped below this number in 2017. Australia has also sustained the virtual elimination of mother to child HIV transmission and low rates of HIV amongst sex workers and people who inject drugs. However, increases in rates of HIV among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been observed, as have increasing rates of transmission among gay men and other men who have sex with men from Asia.
Hepatitis B
Between 2012 and 2016 the overall notification rate for hepatitis B stabilised and the notification rate of hepatitis B in younger age groups declined. However, hepatitis B prevalence remains higher among people aged over 25 years.
Hepatitis C
In 2016, Australia was one of the first countries in the world to subsidise direct acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C, for all Australian regardless of their stage of liver disease or drug use. It is estimated that between 2016 and 2017, 19% of the population living with hepatitis C initiated treatment.
A surveillance and monitoring plan is being developed to monitor the progress against the targets and goals outlined in the current strategies and this progress will be published annually as a surveillance and monitoring report. This will inform the effectiveness of the national response and highlights areas requiring attention. Previous surveillance and monitoring reports have provided important information about the progress that has been made under previous iterations of the strategies, and have helped inform the goals and targets of the current strategies.
National and state/territory governments dedicated resourcing, in the form of staffing and expertise, to the development of the strategies. Stakeholders provided resourcing in the form of advice and expertise, and attended workshops to assist in the development of the strategies.
Resourcing for the implementation of the strategies has yet to be determined.
International evidence was used to help set the goals and targets, including WHO Global Sector Strategies and the UN Declaration on HIV and AIDS.
The National BBV and STI Strategies form a framework and agreed direction for a high quality and coordinated national response in Australia to BBV and STI for 2018-2022. They have been developed in consultation with key government and non-government partners. This extensive collaboration with stakeholders has resulted in a comprehensive and universally accepted set of strategies. The latest strategies have built upon the achievements of previous iterations, and are informed by the trends in BBV and STI observed in Australia. They also acknowledge where limited progress has been made in our response to BBV and STI and identify actions to help rectify this.
Deliverables & Timeline
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
| Name | Description |
|---|
Feedback
Action Network
Share
Timeline
Entity
SDGs
Region
- Asia and Pacific
Website/More information
Countries
Contact Information
Rebecca Newton, Dr