Portugal's decision to decriminalise all drug use did not lead to dramatic increases in drug abuse or drug-related harm, a joint Australian and UK study has found.
Australia has reported its highest number of HIV infections since the early 1990s but cases of most other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections have dropped, data shows.
UNSW researchers have developed a new national strategy aimed at eliminating syphilis and reducing other sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses in Indigenous communities.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, will open the 11th Social Research Conference on HIV, hepatitis C and related diseases at the University of New South Wales this week (8-9 April).
Many nations are failing to roll out prevention strategies required to contain the spread of HIV among injecting drug users, a landmark Australian study has found.
Poor countries in South-East Asia could experience a spike in HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths due to the effects of the global economic crisis, UNSW research has found.
The spread of hepatitis C has halved over the past decade, while chlamydia continues to rise, according to research released by UNSW's National HIV Research Centres.