Time to read
- Young people with HIV have poorer life satisfaction, higher unmet mental health needs, and more barriers to care
- Voices of young people highlight systemic challenges faced
- Targeted response from UK governments needed
A new report from National AIDS Trust, the UK’s HIV rights charity, urges UK governments to meet the needs of young people living with HIV.
Developed in partnership with young people living with HIV, the report – Supporting the Next Generation: improving the quality of life of young adults living with HIV – makes the case that the needs of young adults living with HIV must be brought to the forefront if the government hopes to meet the 2030 target.
It was launched today alongside Protecting your rights: a toolkit for young people living with HIV, which equips young people living with HIV and everyone in their life with an understanding of their rights under the law.
The report calls for a number of urgent priorities to improve the lives of young people including:
- Sustainable funding for and expansion of youth friendly clinics and support services that focus on mental and physical wellbeing
- Increase knowledge of HIV, HIV stigma and what it means to be a young adult living with HIV across the NHS, voluntary sector organisations, workplace and education settings to address HIV discrimination
- Government strategy around meeting the economic needs of young people by investing in programmes to support young people into housing, employment, education and financial stability
- Working with young people to co-develop esearch, performance indicators, policy solutions and support services
Drawing on experiences of young people living with HIV, it makes a powerful case that young people face a distinct, interconnected set of challenges to living well with HIV, that demand targeted policy and service responses.
Speaking about their experiences, young people said:
- “[Young people living with HIV] are expected to educate their GP and they shouldn’t have to and [GPs] ask potentially intrusive questions.”
- “A friend had their HIV status shared across the room by the nurse.”
- “I would’ve assumed that my GP knew about my HIV until I was told recently they aren’t automatically given that information.”
Compared to older age groups, young people living with HIV also experience:
- lower life satisfaction
- heightened mental health needs – with 44% of young people living with HIV aged 18 to 34 having a diagnosed mental health condition
- greater barriers to accessing care
- lowest satisfaction with their HIV care than any other age group
The report demonstrates how these are not inevitable consequences of HIV; they stem from gaps in care provision, economic hardship, and the persistence of HIV stigma and discrimination.
UK governments have committed to ending new HIV transmissions by 2030. Delivering on that ambition requires supporting people living with HIV, including young adults, to live well with HIV.
This means investing in and expanding youth-friendly services, tackling stigma and discrimination and meeting young people’s holistic health, mental health and social needs.
Oluwakemi Agunbiade, Senior Research & Policy Officer, National AIDS Trust said:
“The progress that has been made in HIV policy has always relied on people understanding and fighting for their rights. Whilst we work to address the systemic barriers that leave young people living with HIV vulnerable, we will also strive to equip young people with knowledge of their rights to challenge HIV stigma and discrimination. By publishing this briefing to help build a better future for young people living with HIV, and a toolkit for young people to apply their rights, we are taking steps to help platform young voices in the HIV community.”