Key Advisory Body Formed on Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections
The Australian Government has established a new key advisory body on the national response to blood-borne viruses and sexually-transmissible infections, including HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, and chlamydia.
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24 March 2009
The Australian Government has established a new key advisory body on the national response to blood-borne viruses and sexually-transmissible infections, including HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, and chlamydia.
The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections is chaired by Professor Michael Kidd. It will advise the Government on a national framework to prevent and treat blood-borne viruses and sexually-transmissible infections, and play a role in implementation of the new framework and monitoring its progress and effectiveness.
The committee will also develop an action plan to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses and sexually-transmissible infections (STIs) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Research priorities to support the national framework will be identified by the committee along with appropriate policy responses to emerging trends in the epidemiology of blood-borne viruses and STIs.
The committee will work with public health, research, and community groups and develop a three year work plan.
Professor Kidd is joined by 14 members appointed as individuals on the basis of their expertise. The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the Parliamentary Liaison Group, and the Blood Borne Virus and Sexually Transmissible Infections Sub-committee of the Australian Health
Ministers’ Advisory Council, will also be represented on the committee to facilitate effective connections between key groups working on bloodborne virus and STI issues.
Committee members will draw on their experience in representing the interests of people with, or at risk of getting, these infections. They will continue the collaborative approach that has been successful in helping Australia mount an effective response to these issues, particularly in the areas of HIV and AIDS.
The committee has been appointed for a fixed term of three years and replaces the previous Ministerial Advisory Committee on AIDS/HIV, Sexual Health and Hepatitis (MACASHH). A full list of members is attached.
For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister's Office on 02 6277 7220.
Membership of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections (MACBBVS).
Professor Michael Kidd (Chair) – Executive Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, Flinders University, South Australia.Professor Andrew Grulich – Head of HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales.
Dr Darren Russell – Director, Sexual Health, the Doll’s House Sexual Health Clinic, Cairns Base Hospital, Queensland.
Mr Bill Bowtell – Director, Lowy Institute for International Policy, New South Wales.
Associate Professor Carla Treloar – Deputy Director, National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales.
Professor Marian Pitts – Director, Australian Research Centre on Sexual Health and Society, LaTrobe University, Victoria.
Dr Graham Brown – Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, Curtin University,Western Australia.
Mr Robert Mitchell – President, National Association of People Living with HIV/Aids in Australia, Tasmania.
Ms Helen McNeill – Chief Executive Officer, Hepatitis C Council Victoria.
Ms Annie Madden – Executive Officer, Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League, Australian Capital Territory.
Dr Helen Watchirs –ACT Human Rights & Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights Commission, Australian Capital Territory.
Professor Robert Batey AM –Senior Staff Specialist in Addiction Medicine at North Sydney Central Coast Area Health, and Clinical Adviser at NSW Health.
Dr Mark Wenitong – Senior Medical Officer, Wuchopperen Health Service, Cairns, Queensland.
Prof Cindy Shannon – Director, Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Queensland.
Professor Sharon Lewin – Director, Infectious Diseases Unit, Burnet Institute, Victoria.
A representative from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
A representative from the Blood Borne Virus and Sexually Transmissible Infections Sub-committee of the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council.
A representative from the Parliamentary Liaison Group.
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