The UK’s target for this goal is 2030, and Brighton is a city leading the way.
Last week, MPs from all parties wore our red ribbons in commemoration of World AIDS Day.
Vigils have taken place to mark the lives lost to HIV and AIDS across the country, including at the beautiful Romany Mark Bruce sculpture in New Steine Gardens in Kemptown.
On a day that we remembered all those lost to this disease, it was encouraging to see new and stronger action from the government towards our prevention target.
I was honoured to speak on December 1 alongside the Health Secretary and cross-party politicians at a reception hosted in Speaker’s House by the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), whose work as the first UK charity set up in response to the HIV epidemic, continues to save lives.
THT has used its incredible insight and expertise to help the government shape a new national action plan for ending new transmissions.
This plan, timeline and accompanied funding is desperately needed.
Thousands of people in the UK are still living undiagnosed, and many others who know their status, have fallen out of treatment through issues like disadvantage, trauma, ongoing stigma and discrimination.
Speaking alongside me was Milicent Zwane, who was diagnosed in 2001, but spoke of how early side effects made her lose hope and stay away from treatment for several years until support and mentoring from THT helped her reconnect with new treatment and get back to good health.
I am so proud of the work the Terrence Higgins Trust does everywhere, including at its base in Brighton, just a short walk away from my office.
I have seen first-hand the immense impact of THT’s partnership with other organisations in our city, like the pioneering Lawson Clinic and local HIV charity Sussex Beacon.
It is incredible work, supporting diagnosed people in Brighton to live well with HIV, and challenge the stigma many people still face.
Brighton is without doubt at the forefront of the national prevention mission too.
In 2022, the Royal Sussex County Hospital was among the first emergency departments to do opt-out testing, which has successfully found more than 20 new HIV diagnoses.
The impact of this testing is enormous for each person whose HIV status is found and treated, preventing late diagnoses and more severe illness and curbing the risk of unknowing transmissions in the city too.
Opt-out testing also plays a role in reducing the fear and stigma of getting tested, by normalising taking a test as a standard part of any trip to A&E that requires a blood test.
Those who have fallen out of taking life-saving treatment, can also be found and helped back into treatment by this type of intervention, and the evidence that this approach is good value is clear.
It is great that the government now intends to expand opt-out testing to more hospitals in more parts of the country as part of its action plan, and that doctors in GP surgeries and other medical settings will also be able to take part in opt-out testing programmes inspired by what has been done in pioneering areas like Brighton.
There is also a promise to allow people to order free at-home tests through the NHS app, and I am very keen to see the details of how widespread this will be.
Another way in which Brighton is a trailblazer in this area, is in digitally managing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery, saving NHS time and making life much easier for people taking this effective preventive medicine regularly to protect themselves.
The ground-breaking Emerge app, developed in Brighton and Hove, has been a huge success.
With funding from the European Union, the app lets users manage PrEP access, appointments and support, and I hear people absolutely love it.
This clever and innovative approach has helped ease the pressure on local services and has freed up about 1000 local appointments per year.
Back in February, during HIV testing week, I met with THT staff in Parliament who told me Brighton really could be the first city in the UK to be new transmission-free as we move towards 2030. And I truly believe it.
The work of THT, the Lawson Clinic, and the Sussex Beacon have shown what can be done.
With the national target and plan in place, supported by cross-party politicians, and with more hard work and investment, this goal is feeling very, very achievable.
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