This report explores what public bodies responsible for HIV prevention commissioning spent on HIV prevention and testing for financial years 2015/16 and 2016/17.
This process found that contracts are being consolidated, more is being spent in areas with high HIV prevalence rather than low (but it is decreasing), health promotion contracts are becoming less specific in their target groups and the settings for HIV testing are changing.
It was found that in England, HIV prevention and testing expenditure dropped by 11%, in Scotland by 14% and in Wales and Northern Ireland, was at less than £100,000 for each nation. In 2016/17, a quarter of local authorities in England did not commission any primary HIV prevention or testing, and in England’s high prevalence local authorities, spending dropped by almost a third over two years.
This report includes recommendations for government and local authorities across nations of the UK, including improvements to funding, reporting and adherence to guidelines, to ensure that all people in need of HIV prevention can access it when they need to.