Government criticised for plans to cut HIV prevention budget by 50%

The government’s plans to cut HIV prevention funding by 50% has been described as a “regressive step” by charities.

It has been announced that the government will halve its budget to tackle the virus for the year beginning April 2015, with no guarantee of further funding in the coming years.

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, Chief Executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “This is not the right time for the government to pare back spending on HIV prevention. In recent years, we have made good progress in driving down rates of undiagnosed and late-diagnosed HIV.

“However, tens of thousands of people with HIV across England are still undiagnosed and at increased risk of passing the virus on unwittingly. We have not yet reached the tipping point in our fight against the epidemic, and halving government spending on HIV prevention now would be a regressive step that risks undermining the headway we have made.”

The move from David Cameron’s government comes just weeks after it was revealed that the number of gay men diagnosed with HIV in the UK reached a record high in 2013 – read more here.

In a statement released to mark World AIDS Day on December 1, Cameron said: “Whilst the overall number of new diagnoses last year was down slightly on 2010, there was an increase amongst men who have sex with men. And a quarter of people living with HIV don’t know they have it.

“I am absolutely clear that there can be no complacency in our fight against HIV and AIDS. It should also be a spur to increase testing and a symbol of our commitment to carrying on work to reduce infection levels whilst tackling the stigma, discrimination and prejudice often associated with HIV and sexual health.”

In This Article: