HIV target ‘at risk’ warn Public Health bosses
Unless we get an increase in funding, some sexual health services will have to be cut, meaning more people will go untreated. This would have devastating consequences for individuals, their families and society as a whole and the Government must act urgently to prevent it from happening.
Prof Jim McManus
ADPH President
Today’s HIV Action Report is a timely reminder, coming just a day after the new STI figures were released showing record levels of Gonorrhoea and Syphilis, that there is still much to do to improve HIV transmission rates.
The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) have urged caution over today’s figures, which come just a day after the UK Health Security Agency released figures showing record levels of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Prof Jim McManus, ADPH President and Director of Public Health for Hertfordshire, said:
“By adopting a partnership approach and working across a range of teams, we are making excellent progress towards the Plan’s target of ending new HIV transmissions, AIDS and HIV-related deaths in England by 2030.
“However, the target is at risk because there is an increased likelihood that people with other STIs will contract HIV. Yesterday’s figures demonstrated this could have a worrying impact on progress.
“There is enormous pressure on sexual health teams, and this increase in demand – on both their time and resources – has sadly not been met with increased funding.
“Directors of Public Health and their teams are committed to meeting the 2030 target. However, we need to improve access to PrEP, testing and treatment in order to reduce HIV transmission rates even further and improve the quality of life of people living with HIV.
“We of course welcome the Government’s commitment to the Action Plan and the injection of funding it has received through stand-alone projects but what is really needed is consistent, adequate funding for sexual health services.
“Unless we get an increase in funding, some sexual health services will have to be cut, meaning more people will go untreated. This would have devastating consequences for individuals, their families and society as a whole and the Government must act urgently to prevent it from happening.”
Sexual health clinics in England are funded by the Public Health Grant which has been cut in real terms by over a quarter since 2015, while numbers of people using them have continued to climb and are at a 20-year high.