Preventing the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections not only saves lives - but also money.
There are now nearly 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK - three times as many as there were 10 years ago. More action urgently needs to be taken to stop the spread of the virus. There is no cure for HIV, but there are effective ways of preventing transmission, in particular promoting condom use, testing and treatment. Investment in HIV prevention makes good economic sense. Every HIV infection prevented saves the state some £280,000 in treatment and care and saves a human life from being blighted.
To tackle the spread of HIV, we want a national commitment to:
- Help stop people at risk of HIV and living with HIV from taking risks.
- Halve the levels of undiagnosed and late diagnosed HIV.
- Use HIV treatment as prevention.
- Involve individuals and communities in societal change.
Help stop people with HIV and those at risk of HIV from taking risks
The majority of HIV infections in the UK are among two communities - gay men and black Africans. These communities particularly need education and support to practise safer sex. The Government currently invests about £3 million in national HIV prevention programmes for these two groups.
This compares with over £750 million spent on HIV treatment and care. The balance needs to shift. Poster campaigns must be backed up by more face-to-face and group work to really change the behaviour of people who put themselves at risk.
Halve the levels of undiagnosed and late diagnosed HIV
One in four people with HIV don’t know they have it. Once people are diagnosed, they are far less likely to pass the virus on. People change their sexual behaviour and can also take HIV treatment, which makes them less infectious.
Read more on our HIV Testing page about how we can reduce undiagnosed and late diagnosed HIV.
Use HIV treatment as prevention
HIV treatment helps people to stay healthy, but it can also make them far less infectious. We want more people with HIV to be on stable treatment with undetectable viral loads. Treatment can also prevent transmission in the form of Post Exposure Prophylaxis, which should remain widely available. We should also further explore using treatment as Pre Exposure Prophylaxis, given to HIV negative people who continue to take risks.
Involve individuals and communities in societal change
Better corporate social responsibility is also crucial to support HIV prevention. That means businesses like gay dating sites providing information about HIV prevention and testing, and venues like gay saunas additionally providing condoms. At a deeper level, we want broader debate in society, including the entertainment industries and media, about growing sexualisation in the UK.