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A new report on Poverty and HIV by NAT (National AIDS Trust) and Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) reveals at least one in six people diagnosed with HIV in the UK experienced severe poverty between 2006 and 2009. Furthermore, the level of poverty experienced by people living with HIV has dramatically increased over recent years. In the current climate – and without determined Government action – the poverty crisis for people living with HIV is set to get worse.
New figures reveal recipients of grants from the Crusaid Hardship Fund, now run by THT, had an average weekly income of just £42 per week – less than half of the income they had 10 years ago (£93). In addition, many have no income at all. Most applicants are now living in extreme poverty with income at only 20 per cent of the average income for a single person1.
Nick Partridge, Chief Executive of THT comments:
‘The level of poverty people with HIV are experiencing across the UK has dramatically increased over recent years. Where the Hardship Fund used to buy people a fridge or pay for respite care, now it mainly goes on basic survival – food, clothes, a bed.’
The report analyses the underlying reasons why people with HIV face poverty. Over a quarter (29 per cent) of applications to the Hardship Fund cited the immigration system as the primary reason for poverty. In October 2009, the Government support for single asylum seekers was reduced from £64.30 to £35.13 a week – just £5 a day. A further 17 per cent of applications said that problems relating to the benefits system were their main cause of hardship. Problems included awaiting a benefit decision, changes to the benefit system or delays in receiving benefits they were entitled to.
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), comments:
‘Charities are picking up the pieces of a poverty crisis in the UK, but there is only so much the sector’s limited funds can do. The Government needs to address the underlying causes of this hardship, some of which it has been responsible for creating. Granting asylum seekers the right to work after six months and ensuring people are not left in poverty while waiting for their benefits to be processed are two crucial steps that would release many people with HIV out of the poverty trap.’
The report identifies twenty recommendations that would address the root causes of poverty amongst people living with HIV.
Case Study
James, 35 years old and HIV positive, is currently living between friend’s houses sleeping on their floors and occasionally in shop door ways. He came to the UK as an asylum seeker and has been granted leave to remain here. No longer eligible for housing under asylum support, he applied for benefits but has not received any payments. An investigation revealed that due to backlogs in the system, by the time James’ claim was processed he was homeless and therefore did not qualify for the benefit. James is one of 7,900 people with HIV in the UK who have relied on a grant from the Crusaid Hardship Fund in the last three years, to pay for basic needs.