The Terrence Higgins Trust is launching Tacking the Spread of HIV in the UK, with HIV being diagnosed in approximately 7,000 individuals in the UK each year, and the costs of lifetime treatment rising to an additional £1 billion each year, the plan is designed to reduce HIV transmission and the increasing financial problem on the NHS at a time it can least afford it.

The charitable organization has been at the center of fighting HIV for nearly three decades, and a renewed national commitment to HIV prevention center on four achievable actions is being called for.

  • Halve undiagnosed and late diagnosed HIV within three years: In the UK a quarter of individuals living with HIV are not aware they have the disease. In addition to damaging their health, these people are more infectious and they are more likely to pass on the virus. By halving the number of undiagnosed people, which is achievable, it will save lives and new infections and will considerably reduce future costs to the state.
  • Increase the numbers of individuals with HIV taking treatment from half to two-thirds in three years: The virus may be undetectable in the blood of a person with HIV who is taking treatment successfully. Although they are not cured, they are considerably less likely to pass the virus to someone else. By increasing the number of individuals with the disease on treatment to 66%, it could have a substantial impact on onward transmission.
  • Identify those who constantly take risks which expose them to HIV and support them to change: A small percentage of people take persistent risks making them the greatest risk of exposure to the virus. For these individuals, intensive support and access to behavioral change services, such as counseling and peer mentoring need to be provided, as they have revealed to be highly effective.
  • Set HIV prevention against a backdrop of widespread HIV awareness: It is crucial for HIV prevention efforts to be successful, and for those at greater risk of contracting the disease, to get persistent messages regarding HIV and how to avoid it. The general population should not be forgotten, especially due to the high levels of sexually transmitted infections in this group, which indicates that safe sex is far from normal. Each opportunity, especially through organized and timely sex and relationship education in schools, should be used to reinforce prevention messages.

THT’s Deputy Chief Executive, Paul Ward, explained of the charity’s new report:

“Rising HIV infections are placing an increasing yet avoidable burden on the NHS which hard-pressed budgets can ill afford.

There is no cure for HIV and it is the fastest growing serious health condition in the UK, but we do not have to accept rising costs as inevitable. By renewing our approach to HIV prevention in the UK, by properly involving communities, businesses, charities, individuals and the state we can turn this epidemic around.

The ways in which we can diagnose and treat HIV have advanced a great deal in 30 years, and making a similar step-change in prevention is well within our grasp.”

Written by Grace Rattue