Rudd pledges $13m for PNG AIDS fight

More cash: An AIDS public awareness campaign dominates the roof of the central market in Goroka, Papua New Guinea (File photo) (AFP: Torsten Blackwood)

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced an extra $13 million in funding to tackle the spread of HIV and AIDS in Papua New Guinea.

Mr Rudd is travelling to PNG's Southern Highlands today to visit Australian-sponsored projects working with people living with HIV and AIDS.

He says the issue should be at the top of the bilateral agenda because of the movement of people from the two countries through the Torres Strait.

By 2025 it is expected the number of HIV-positive people in PNG will top 500,000.

Mr Rudd also announced a $25 million increase in Australia's aid package to PNG overall, which will now stand close to $400 million a year.