Tatchell hits out at cut in funding for HIV charity
ONE of the UK’S most prominent human rights activists has criticised the Scottish Government for cutting the core funding of an award-winning HIV charity.
Peter Tatchell said the loss of funds for HIV Scotland made “no medical or financial sense” and called on the Government to “reverse this ill-judged decision”.
Established in 1994, HIV Scotland has carried out its advocacy and antistigma work with the help around £270,000 a year from the public purse.
However, the Government decided last year to put the wider sexual health and blood-borne virus funding pot out to tender and the charity lost out. The organisation is depending on interim funding, but the money runs out soon, staff have been laid off and the body faces closure.
In an email last week, HIV Scotland chief executive George Valiotis warned the charity is at “risk” and said of the Government’s actions: “We are completely shocked by this decision because it came at a time where we were recognised in an award by the British Medical Association for an outstanding contribution to improving sexual health across the United Kingdom.”
Mr Tatchell has become a household name for his defence of human rights through non-violent direct action.
He told The Herald: “The funding cut to HIV Scotland is short-sighted and makes no medical or financial sense. The education work of this effective, acclaimed charity is helping prevent HIV infection, which will save the Scottish health service the far greater costs of treating people who may otherwise become infected. I urge the Scottish Government to recognise the longterm savings that HIV Scotland is helping secure and to reverse this ill-judged decision.”
A Scottish Government spokesman referred to the First Minister’s comments last week about the “open round held for sexual health and blood-borne virus funding”, where she said: “If the Government had interfered in the funding round that I spoke about, that would have meant funding being taken away from organisations that had already been successful in that open application process.
“In that case, members would,
I am sure, have been asking me why the Government had done that. That is the situation, and we will continue to work positively with
HIV Scotland.”