Australia pledges Aus$12.5m for chlamydia initiative:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Australia will spend Aus$12.5m (US$9.6m) on an initiative to combat chlamydia. The funds, to be spread over four years, will be spent on a pilot testing programme and on improved surveillance and awareness programmes for potential sufferers. The testing programme will target women aged 18-30. The initiative is in response to public health concerns expressed in the First National Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategy, which was launched this week and will run until 2008, concurrently with the national HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C strategies. In 2004, 36,000 cases of chlamydia were reported in Australia - a 20% rise on 2003.