Views

Oluwakemi Agunbiade reflects on the impact of the Timms Review and potential changes in disability benefits for people living with HIV.

Dan Glass shares reflections from the International AIDS Conference 2026.

Annie Howard, HIV Confident Programme Manager, shares how HIV Confident is helping organisations turn awareness into action for Zero HIV Stigma Day.

For many in HIV advocacy addressing stigma is the Holy Grail.

Many, if not all, of the factors that drive the HIV epidemic are embroiled with stigma. The impact it has on the lives of people living with HIV is well documented. In a recent survey of over half of people living with HIV reported feelings of shame, guilt, low self-esteem and self-blame; one in five had experienced verbal harassment or threats.1

Stigma should be our top priority, yet we have not identified concrete strategies for reducing it. So why do we find stigma so difficult to tackle?

NAT responds to the Government announcement of a NICE Evidence review on PrEP

Jane Ellison MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, announced on Tuesday 7 June in the House of Commons a NICE Evidence Review to look into the case for PrEP, and in particular its cost-effectiveness. The review should report in advance of the previously announced £2m pilot towards the end of the year, and will apparently feed in to that pilot.

In 2014 3,346 people across England and Wales died because they had a drug overdose. This is the highest number since records began and in England this represents a 17% rise from the previous year, a dramatic deterioration of the situation for people who use drugs in this country.

In early 2015 we wrote to David Cameron ahead of the General Election to ask his party to support statutory and LGBT inclusive Sex and Relationships Education (SRE). The response we received from our now re-elected Prime Minister was telling. Despite the topic of the original letter, the response had no mention of the terms LGBT, gay, trans* or same-sex relationship. Even the term SRE was removed – he referred to PSHE only. It was a sex-less response.

In March, NHS England announced it was pulling the plug on an 18 month process to decide whether or not to fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV.

Rarely has a u-turn, rarely has a breach of trust, been so misleadingly announced. Reading NHS England’s press release, ‘Update on commissioning and provision of PrEP for HIV prevention’ (21 March 2016), you would think the NHS were simply clarifying progress to date and the well understood responsibilities for the commissioning of PrEP. In fact this press release was the announcement of a shocking U-turn as NHS England suddenly abandoned its own process for the approval of PrEP, just before its conclusion, with nothing to replace it bar some loose change found down the back of the sofa.

Reducing new HIV infections has been a priority in the UK ever since the epidemic’s outbreak. It’s taken so seriously the vast majority of ways to prevent infection are free to those who need them. Condoms and lube can be accessed for free, people who inject drugs should have access to free injecting equipment through Needle and Syringe Programmes, and people can begin HIV treatment (also free) immediately if this reduces their risk of passing on HIV to others. These methods have and will continue to contribute to the UK’s relatively successful response to the epidemic.

Yesterday, Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote a letter to fellow conservative MP, Neil Carmichael, outlining why her Government won't be accepting his calls as Chair of the Education Select Committee for compulsory SRE and PSHE.

This Wednesday the House of Lords will be voting on two vitally important amendments to the Welfare Reform and Work Bill. If these amendments are not accepted it will mean that future claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (Work Related Activity Group) will face a £30 a week cut to their income.