NAT response to new falls in HIV diagnoses

Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust) said: “We welcome the further evidence in the HIV statistics for 2017 that implementation of HIV prevention strategies alongside increased testing is working. The growth of the HIV epidemic is slowing across all population groups. However, our continued failure to reduce late diagnosis shows how much more there is to do.
“Building on current success, the Government, NHS England, Public Health England and local councils must commit themselves to the UN goal of eliminating all new HIV infections by 2030. Recent massive cuts to HIV prevention expenditure must be reversed if we are to avoid progress stalling. The enormous pressure on chronically underfunded sexual health clinics must be relieved, to ensure that they are able to meet need. The current rationing of PrEP in England must end, to ensure it is available to everyone who needs it. It would be a terrible mistake, at this potential turning point in the epidemic, to lose focus and leave the task undone.”