The Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne MP delivered the keynote speech at the HIV Prevention England Conference on 6 September 2024.
I want to start by thanking the fantastic campaigners in the audience, Terrence Higgins Trust, NAT, EJAF, and so many others. Who went to Pride this year. I went to Manchester Pride, I was invited by the brilliant GHT to promote their U+U message, I have never felt prouder of my home city, I saw things that made my heart soar. Old and young people, families with children, supporting fellow Mancunians and having fun along the way.
One of the perks of being a minister is decorating my office. And I was offered a portrait of a young man, the artist has sketched his torso in red, two other figures faintly sketched look straight at you holding your gaze. These are the Three Ages of Terry by Curtis Holder, the most famous sketch of Terrence Higgins, and I love this portrait. It was a lovely gift from Richard and Terrence Higgins Trust at my first meeting with external stakeholders, THT, NAT and EJAF and I hope that reassures you of the priority I give to this area. The portrait reminds me of everything I want to achieve in government. Back at a time when AIDS was still called the gay-related immune deficiency, it was THT founded by Terry’s friends Martyn Butler and Rupert Whittaker who wanted to put a face to unseen suffering. The lives ended too soon, the families bent in grief, the communities ripped apart, these friends achieved that and more, they raised awareness of HIV reducing the pervasive stigma, they raised millions for research, they put the UK on the path to ending HIV transmissions once and for all. Curtis’ portrait that hangs in my office reminds me everyday of who I’m there to serve, the consequences of inaction and what we can achieve when we work together. For me it is a symbol of my long and proud history with the Trust – you have meant something to me my entire political career. As a councillor an inspiration, in opposition a friend, in government a loyal partner. So now as Minister for Public Health with me and Wes at the helm you will have no stronger allies in the vital work that you do.
I want the bonds we formed before we were in government to become a bridge today that connects us to the communities we serve today and helps us move forward together. I know you will do the hard work on the ground, holding me and the government to account when we fall short – hopefully we won’t. And pushing us forward in our mission to end new HIV transmissions in the UK by 2030. So from me and every member of the Labour government, thank you. I also want to say thank you to the team behind HIV Prevention England, in particular the brilliant Dom Edwards who has worked on HIV prevention England and its predecessors for 25 years, he’s not just a director at THT but a stalwart and a beacon for what people living with HIV can achieve.
Now as Richard said after 14 years in opposition I’m keen to make up for lost time. In our manifesto we committed to launch a new HIV action plan and that is what we will deliver. We are working with you and others to publish it by the summer of next year and I have made it clear that it must follow some key principles.
Firstly the plan must ensure equal access and uptake of HIV prevention programmes and give vital information to those who need it the most, making sure that everyone who should take PrEP, that game changing drug, can access it free of charge on the NHS. The consequences of inaction are far too great.
Secondly we must scale up HIV testing in line with national guidelines, that means we must test, test, test. I know the data, the figures show we’re going above and beyond the UN’s 95-95-95 target and we should be proud of the progress we’ve made but I also know that the data doesn’t show the complete picture because it doesn’t always capture people who are not retained in care, and it’s important we don’t rest on our laurels of that published data which doesn’t give the true clear picture, because we can’t let anyone with a diagnosis slip through the cracks. So I have asked my officials to review how we measure those performance indicators and I pledge to you this, later this year we will publish new data that takes all of this into account, so we get the correct picture as we head towards ending HIV cases by 2030.
I salute the last government for introducing opt-out testing in A&E’s because it’s not a party political issue and we supported them in opposition as they moved this forward, and I’ve always worked with people on all sides of the political aisles to get things done. That one decision to expand opt-out testing has probably saved more than a thousand lives in its first two years alone. And not to mention, identifying thousands more cases of hepatitis b and c, by testing heterosexuals and men who have sex with men who don’t identify as gay or bisexual who never thought they were at risk. Our action plan will build on that success.
Thirdly we must improve the quality of life for people living with HIV and wipe out the stigma they still face. Just two years ago Positive Voices found that almost half of the HIV patients that they surveyed felt ashamed of their diagnosis and one in 25 had been verbal harassed for being HIV positive. Let me be clear it is this government’s position that one person getting verbally abused is one too many. That’s why it’s so important to smash the stigmas in society for people who are HIV positive, yes we’ve come a long way since the 1980s but let’s be honest there’s still so much more that needs to be done in this area.
Finally and I think above all, I want a plan that reflects people, that means listening to people and understanding their needs. Every HIV patient, every person is a unique being with their own wants, their own needs and agency, and our plan must reflect that. That same survey by PV found that almost 92% of patients were satisfied by their treatment plan, but we need to help the 8% that weren’t satisfied. To make this plan a success we must tailor the system to suit every patient. We cannot pigeonhole patient into a system, the system must fit around the needs of the patient. I want closer ties with civil society supporting them to deliver this real change, whether that’s with THT, NAT, EJAF or many partners across local government and every one of the organisations in our community advisory group. I want all of you to help us shape our action plan because we each have our part to play, public and private, business and voluntary organisations, together we can turn the tide against prejudice and deliver lasting change like those pioneering heroes of the 1980s.
Two weeks ago I was proud to march alongside some of them at Manchester Pride. I thought about how much we all owe to those brave men and women, some of them still with us, other not, who started organisations like THT who pass the torch onto a new generation, let’s live up to their legacy and I look forward to beginning this new chapter of our story together. Thank you.
