Papua New Guinea HIV-Aids project has crucial impact - Video

That is true Dave... and in support of Marama - this story is not new for those who have been aware of the AIDs pandemic levels in Papua New Guinea.... The sad fact is that many young girls are now being sold into the "sex trade" to visiting workers from overseas - as the one night of sex pays for the whole village for a year.... This is something we need to be looking into to prevent such a pandemic sweeping our shores too...

this is great that finally people in NZ know we have a pandemic on our back doorstep, but I believe there is still an amount of denial about who the at risk groups are. I am HIV+ Maori Woman, with an HIV+ husband from PNG. He was infected in PNG, not by a prostitute nor a man. The largest amount of recorded infections is actually amongst the heterosexual community. If any one was able to interview them, this would have been obvious. Also there are other clinics in Moresby that are just as successful as this one, that my husband is still receiving his medication from. My point really is that it's a human disease and 1 in 10 Papua New Guineans are not gay or prostitutes. They are wives, husbands, politicians, policemen, soldiers and every day 'joe blow' people, who are facing extinction with culturally insufficient AID from the world. The female statistics are over 60%, the mother to child transmission is 70%. My concern is that we will think that all HIV+ people in PNG are gay or prostitutes. I would plea to the TV3 to rectify this. Thanks.

The well-meaning send their dollars off to Africa to cure their problems, but it seems we have a time bomb on our own doorstep. 800,000 children - and heaven only knows how many adults - in PNG have aids. I know where my donations will be going from now on....the pacific rim.