AIDS partnerships — the Australian way | |
Learning to trust: Australia’s responses to AIDS. Paul Sendziuk. Sydney: UNSW Press, 2003 (x + 262 pp). ISBN 0 86840 718 6. |
AUSTRALIA’S RESPONSE TO AIDS is often touted as one of the most successful in the world. On a recent visit to Australia, Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), praised the Australian response and said that it contained many lessons for countries just starting their battle against AIDS. The backbone of the Australian response has been the partnership between government, affected communities, and health services. In this book, Paul Sendziuk, a postdoctoral fellow in historical studies at Monash University, explores this partnership in some detail, drawing on the experience of many of the key figures involved in the response in Australia. This is a timely work. Many countries are facing an exploding AIDS epidemic and are trying to determine why their initial responses have not succeeded. The reputation of the Australian response is well known, but there are few publications available that provide a detailed policy analysis. This book will assist governments, policymakers and community advocates to develop and implement strategies and policies that produce sustainable declines in infection rates and increased quality of life for people affected by AIDS. The author deals extremely well with this diverse and complex topic. The primary case studies are well chosen and presented in a way that makes them easy to read and easy to apply in a range of different settings. If there is a gap in the analysis, it is that the author focuses mainly on prevention and has less to say about community mobilisation for treatment, care and support. There is plenty here for a wide range of readers. For Australians, the book is a reminder of the essential elements that led to Australia’s early success, a success that has been somewhat eroded in recent times. For people working in AIDS services in other countries, it provides detailed information about how some of the most difficult AIDS policy issues have been addressed in Australia. Lou W McCallum
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