Extra HIV testing means the government’s goal of ending new transmissions in England by 2030 is “within reach”, the health secretary has said.
Wes Streeting has said a new HIV action plan, launched for today’s World AIDS Day, also aims to bring people no longer being treated for HIV back into “life-saving care”.
The £170m scheme includes testing at A&Es during routine blood tests as part of a programme delivered in areas with the highest rates, including London and Manchester.
At-home HIV testing kits will be made available via a £5m trial through the NHS app, with results received securely, providing a discreet route for those anxious about their sexual health to get tested without visiting a sexual health clinic.
It is hoped to reach thousands of people with undiagnosed infections who might never otherwise visit a clinic, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
Support will be aimed at around 5,000 people living with HIV who are no longer in care, with reasons including mental health issues, addiction, poverty and fear of judgement, the DHSC said.
Mr Streeting said: “Our national re-engagement programme, a truly innovative and agile approach, targets the epidemic where it’s growing and leaving no one behind.
“We’ll bring people into life-saving care and find infections early, when treatment works best, so everyone can live the full, healthy life they deserve.
“Thanks to the work of determined campaigners across our country, ending new HIV transmissions by 2030 – a history making, world changing goal – is within reach. This government will now put its shoulder to the wheel to deliver this change.”
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called it a “groundbreaking new HIV prevention programme”.
But HIV activist Harun Tulunay told Sky News he does not think the 2030 target will be met, as progress is “very slow”.
He said: “We are not working hard to reach those groups like the heterosexual [and the] black African community, who are diagnosed more with HIV more in recent years.
“We have these amazing tools but we don’t have a campaign to let everyone know and we don’t have a plan for sexual health education to talk about HIV and AIDS to educate people.”
Around 112,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, more than 5,200 of whom are undiagnosed and do not know they are living with HIV, according to the charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust.
The group’s most recent data shows 4,700 people are living with undiagnosed HIV in England.
Part of the ambition is to tackle the stigma surrounding HIV, which Ellie Harrison has experienced since she tested positive for the illness when she was 21.
Initially, she said people were “in floods of tears and scared” after she told them, and some people have broken off contact.
“I’ve had people not want to be my friend anymore since they found out… a lot of their opinions are based on lack of information. I think the more negative reactions you get are because people know very little about HIV.”
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Wes Streeting told Sky News he has friends who have been diagnosed with HIV.
They were “living with HIV and are living long, healthy, happy lives”. “What they still have to contend with, I’m sad to say, is a huge amount of stigma,” Mr Streeting said.
“The closer we get to 2030, the harder it becomes if the stigma is still there. If we still have people who think ignorance is bliss or ‘this couldn’t happen to me’, and therefore go undiagnosed, that will be one of the biggest blocking factors.”
