This week, electors in Scotland will head to the polls to vote for who they want to represent them in the Scottish Parliament. Whoever wins the election, this new generation of parliamentarians will have the opportunity to end the HIV epidemic in Scotland by 2030 and do so without a vaccine or a cure. Scotland could even become the first country in the world to achieve this historic feat.

In the run up to the Scottish Parliament election on 7 May, we have been engaging with political parties to ensure ending HIV transmission stays on the agenda. Over the past few weeks, political parties in Scotland have been publishing their manifestos and putting forward their priorities for the next parliament. We have seen manifesto commitments on ending HIV transmission from the SNP, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Greens, with each party setting out their respective plans to increase testing, improve access to prevention tools like PrEP and tackle HIV stigma.

These manifesto pledges are the first step to the action required to end new transmissions of HIV for good and support everyone living with HIV to live well, free of stigma. Our shared goal is only achievable if these commitments are translated into urgent action by the next Scottish Government. 

Testing

There are 400 people living with undiagnosed HIV in Scotland and up to 1,400 people who are diagnosed but are no longer engaged with treatment and care. Finding and supporting these people is vital to improving their health and ending HIV transmission in Scotland.

Emergency department opt-out HIV testing has been a game-changer elsewhere in the UK in finding new cases of HIV and re-engaging those who are no longer accessing treatment and care. The testing programme in England has already found 719 new HIV diagnoses, 831 new Hepatitis C diagnoses and 3,667 Hepatitis B diagnoses. A significant majority (73.4%) of people newly diagnosed had no record of a previous test for blood borne viruses, highlighting the success of the opt-out programme in accessing populations who would not normally interact with traditional settings where a blood borne virus test may take place.

We advocated for funding for this in Scotland and won. In May 2025, the First Minister committed to roll out opt-out testing in NHS Grampian, NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with the intention for a wider roll out across Scotland at a later date. It is therefore welcome that the SNP, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Greens have all committed to delivering on this commitment.

We will deliver on the commitment to rollout opt-out HIV testing in A&Es across Scotland, enable PrEP access at suitable locations outwith of sexual health clinics, and invest in re-engaging the growing number of people currently not participating in HIV care.
 

SNP manifesto

Prevention

Prevention must be one of the central pillars of our work to end the onward transmission of HIV in Scotland by 2030. However, we know that access to prevention tools, like PrEP and at-home HIV testing, is not equitable and significant barriers remain. Ensuring that everyone who could benefit from testing and PrEP can access them in a way that works for them is crucial.

A national Online HIV Prevention Service, bringing together PrEP initiation and HIV testing, could revolutionise our efforts to end new cases of HIV by 2030. It is encouraging that the Scottish Green Party and Scottish Labour have committed to exactly this in their manifesto’s and that the SNP have committed to exploring how PrEP can be accessed outside of sexual health clinics.

Roll out emergency department opt-out HIV and blood-borne virus testing programmes in areas with a high HIV prevalence and to other health settings.

Deliver a national Online HIV Prevention Service that’s a one-stop-shop for at-home HIV testing and online PrEP access.

Speeding-up the rollout of injectable anti-HIV medication.
 

Scottish Green Party manifesto

Stigma

Stigma continues to seriously impact the lives of people living with HIV and is preventing people from accessing testing, treatment and support. Polling undertaken by Terrence Higgins Trust and YouGov in 2023 found that almost half (46%) of people in Scotland would be ashamed to tell other people they were HIV positive and that just a third of Scots (34%) are aware that people living with HIV on effective treatment cannot pass it on.

It is crucial that the next Scottish Government doubles down on efforts to combat HIV stigma. Campaigns, like a National HIV Testing Week and ‘Stigma is more harmful than HIV’, should be funded to help raise awareness of HIV, challenge common misconceptions about the virus and encourage those at risk to get a test. That’s why the Scottish Labour commitment to deliver HIV awareness campaigns is so welcome.
 

Ending new cases of HIV in Scotland by 2030, with opt-out testing in A&E departments in areas of high prevalence, online prevention services and awareness campaigns to tackle stigma and encourage uptake of HIV treatment and care.

Scottish Labour manifesto

Treatment and Care

Public Health Scotland reports that 7% of people living with diagnosed HIV in Scotland are not engaged with specialist treatment and care – meaning they have not attended HIV specialist services in the past 18 months – and nearly a further 1,000 people are ‘lost to follow-up’, meaning they have not attended HIV specialist services in Scotland for more than 36 months. These people are at risk of getting seriously ill and passing the virus on to others.

We need a national approach to re-engagement to find and support everyone living with HIV and end HIV transmission by 2030, with the voluntary sector as a key delivery partner from the outset. The SNP’s commitment to invest in programmes to re-engage those not accessing HIV care is promising.

As we approach the election, it is worth celebrating that ending HIV cases by 2030 and tackling stigma is firmly on the agenda, but there is no room for complacency. 

The leader of Reform UK, Niegel Farage, recently said he would ban asylum seekers with HIV from receiving treatment on the NHS. This is wrong and we called it out. With access to treatment, people living with HIV can live a normal, healthy life and can't pass it on. Withholding HIV treatment from anyone in the UK means more people living with HIV because there is a chance it could be passed on and means more people ill in the NHS. I have offered to meet with Nigel Farage and Malcolm Offord, the leader of Reform UK in Scotland, to discuss the realities of HIV in the UK and how Reform UK can support the cross-party effort to end the HIV epidemic for good.

At Terrence Higgins Trust, with our partners from across the HIV sector, we’ve published our own manifesto for the election, with five clear calls for action. Together, we have set out what is needed for Scotland to become the first country in the world to end new HIV transmissions, and we are ready to support any new government of any party to make that happen.

It’s going to be up to all of us. So whether it’s through writing to your parliamentary candidate or donating to support our work, please stand with us on this next phase of the journey.