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“Our network of national charities works with tens of millions of ordinary people up and down the country. We see first-hand how people’s rights are affected, for better or worse, by our human rights laws. Our experience shows that the Human Rights Act already does a good job of protecting people and helps hold to account those responsible for abusing people’s rights – something that is still far too common in the UK today.
In a statement published today (22 Jan 2013), BHIVA and EAGA sets out how treatment as prevention reduces HIV transmissions. By using HIV drugs to reduce the levels of the virus in their system people with HIV can become virtually non-infectious.
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT said:” A number of people with HIV want to start treatment early to lessen the chances of passing the virus on, meaning less worry for them but also fewer HIV transmissions, saving the NHS many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“NAT approached BHIVA and EAGA to investigate the scientific basis for treatment as prevention. It’s great to see this work come to fruition and to see these respected medical bodies endorse treatment as a way to tackle the rising numbers of people living with HIV in the UK.
“We now call on the NHS Commissioning Board to accept these respected agencies’ recommendations and provide HIV treatment early to all those who wish to start it. This will provide important reassurance for many people living with HIV. It also highlights the need for society’s understanding of HIV to change and keep up with medical developments.”
BHIVA and EAGA’s statement on treatment as prevention also underlines how important it is for the UK to get better at diagnosing people with HIV early. Nearly half of people with HIV are diagnosed late, after the point at which they should have started HIV treatment, and have usually being living with HIV for at least five years without knowing it.
Deborah Jack continues: “As a matter of urgency we need to reduce undiagnosed HIV and maximise the proportion of people with HIV who are tested, and accessing good quality treatment and care. At a time of such massive change within the NHS it is imperative that the newly created Public Health England ensures we don’t lose ground on HIV testing but rather make further and significant progress in getting everyone with HIV diagnosed and into treatment and care.