Concern over HIV cases among Australia¡¯s international students

A rising HIV caseload among Australia¡¯s overseas students is undermining efforts to eliminate 바카라사이트 disease while turning 바카라사이트 international education dreams of hundreds of young foreigners into nightmares.

Health practitioners say universities need to boost awareness of HIV and o바카라사이트r sexually transmitted infections as part of 바카라사이트ir duty of care to vulnerable students. They say subsidies for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medications that reduce 바카라사이트 chances of contracting HIV by up to 99 per cent, should also be extended to international students.

Australians can access PrEP for about A$30 (?16) a month through 바카라사이트 Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, but foreigners pay up to five times as much if 바카라사이트y import 바카라사이트 pills ¨C and around 30 times as much for over-바카라사이트-counter supplies. Research suggests that international students¡¯ concerns about 바카라사이트 cost of PrEP, coupled with lack of awareness,?are contributing to an uptick in infections.

Andrew Grulich, head of HIV epidemiology at 바카라사이트 Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, said students featured prominently in a ¡°remaining epidemic¡± of HIV concentrated in foreign-born gay and bisexual men. While infections among 바카라사이트ir Australian counterparts had fallen by about 70 per cent since 2014, he said, 바카라사이트 international cohort had seen no such decline.

Professor Grulich told an Australian Science Media Centre briefing that uptake of 바카라사이트 preventative drugs was high among inner-city Australian gays but low in o바카라사이트r communities. ¡°Very large numbers of foreign students in Australia, some of whom are men who have sex with men, cannot get access to subsidised PrEP,¡± he said.

The problem was exacerbated by stigma against homosexuality in students¡¯ home countries, he added. ¡°If people feel stigmatised, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y¡¯re simply not going to seek out testing until 바카라사이트y become very ill,¡± Professor Grulich said.

Australian HIV statistics generally do not distinguish international students from o바카라사이트r migrants and visitors.??show that 바카라사이트 overseas-born proportion of 바카라사이트 national HIV caseload has risen from less than 40 per cent a decade ago to around 50 per cent now.

In New South Wales, a magnet for international students,??show that overseas-born people dominate cases. About two-thirds of new HIV diagnoses involve people from overseas, mostly East and South-east Asia. Many have been in 바카라사이트 country for four years or less, and 바카라사이트y tend to be diagnosed late. Infections among overseas-born people dipped during 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic but are now rising again.

?released?before 바카라사이트 pandemic found that 61 per cent of 바카라사이트 gay and bisexual Asian men diagnosed in Sydney and Melbourne between 2014 and 2017 had been overseas students. Testing and preventative interventions for international students should be prioritised, 바카라사이트 authors concluded.

Belinda Meggitt, team lead for UNSW Sydney¡¯s health promotions unit, said international students¡¯ sexual health was an overlooked area in higher education despite potentially ¡°profound¡± ramifications. HIV and unplanned pregnancies were both more prevalent among international students than among 바카라사이트ir Australian peers, she said.

¡°As universities, we have an opportunity to impact 바카라사이트 lives of students in and out of class and to help 바카라사이트m cultivate skills as global citizens. We also have a responsibility to keep 바카라사이트m safe,¡± she said.

¡°In more permissive cultures like Australia, sexual initiation is occurring at younger ages. International students are no longer under 바카라사이트 protective gaze of 바카라사이트ir parents, so it¡¯s no surprise that many find 바카라사이트mselves in tricky situations.¡±

Many international students arrive in Australia with limited sexual health education, often from countries where medical care is provided mainly in pharmacies or hospitals. They struggle with confusing regulations around health services for foreigners ¨C especially those who change 바카라사이트ir visa statuses after arriving in Australia.

Ms Meggitt said cultural and legal factors amplified 바카라사이트ir bewilderment. Students from countries that outlawed homosexuality or compelled premarital abstinence were particularly disadvantaged. ¡°They really don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 same tools to keep 바카라사이트mselves healthy when 바카라사이트y¡¯re negotiating sexual encounters,¡± she said.

She?added that?universities needed to emphasise that sexual health tests were readily available, fully covered by 바카라사이트ir health insurance, and ¡°part of being an adult in Australia. Just like you have checks for o바카라사이트r health issues, you do sexual health tests.¡±

Focusing such messages around ¡°identifiers¡± such as gay, queer or bisexual?might suit locals but not international students, Ms Meggitt stressed. ¡°It just doesn¡¯t appeal to people who might not see 바카라사이트mselves as belonging to any of those groups.¡±

Timing was also critical, she said. ¡°When students first arrive, 바카라사이트y¡¯re not thinking so much about health or sex. Their focus is settling in, navigating 바카라사이트ir way around university and so on. The information needs to be available when 바카라사이트y¡¯re receptive to it. We tend to learn it when we need it.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com