Living with HIV, Looking to the Future

Discuss the Questions Here are the questions our panel faced this week. Tell us what your answer would be or what you think our panellists need to say. MH17 RESPONSE Norelle Feehan asked: This horrible loss of life we awoke to last week claimed respected people attending World AIDS 2014. How can delegates still keep a focus on critical medical and social issues while at this major global conference held in Australia for the first time? What do you think? MH17 & PUTIN Ged Sweeney asked: Whilst he may not have pressed the actual button, does the panel believe that Vladimir Putin has blood on his hands? What do you think? HIV CURE Russell Harrower asked: I am 26 years old I have had HIV for 5 years. We have PrEP which if taken within 72 hour it can stop the virus infecting the person newly exposed. Why, in this day and age with all the technology advancements we have, don’t we have a cure for HIV? What do you think? FOLLOW UP Russell Harrower also asked: The biggest issue is education. I was never taught about HIV at school, Sex education needs to include Gay Sex. What do you think? OZ HIV INFECTION Emily Jacobs asked: Despite increased awareness of STI's, Australia is experiencing a 20 year high in HIV infection rates. Do you think a stigma still exists around sex and if so, is this preventing educators and parents from having effective conversations about safe sex? What do you think? NEW HIV CAMPAIGN? Nick Crewdson asked: I feel we need a new national campaign to reignite the talk about HIV. If we were to do this, would we be better using the historically effective methods used in the grim reaper campaign and run the risk of further stigmatising HIV and scaring people away from testing or do we educate people as to the reality of HIV today as a very manageable condition and make people less scared? What do you think?