Equity must be a priority in the HIV Action Plan
In 2014, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) set its 90-90-90 targets: by 2020, they wanted 90 per cent of all people living with HIV to be diagnosed, 90 per cent of those diagnosed to receive treatment and 90 per cent of those receiving treatment to reach viral suppression.
In 2020, the United Kingdom surpassed this target for the fourth consecutive year – 95 per cent know their status, 99 per cent who know their status are on antiretroviral therapy and 97 per cent of those living with HIV are virally suppressed. Living with HIV has changed. People are living longer, fuller and healthier lives.
However, Black communities in Britain still face barriers to access testing, treatment and care. e latest gures indicate that 47 per cent of Black Africans diagnosed with HIV within the past year were diagnosed late. Black Africans are more likely to experience late diagnoses than other ethnic groups.
Rates of HIV testing have fallen by 30 per cent across the board. Just 1.5 per cent of participants in the PrEP impact trial, set up to be er understand usage of PrEP among people with HIV, were Black African. Black women across Britain have reported limited knowledge about PrEP’s bene ts and e ectiveness, and data suggests that Black communities are less likely to be engaged in HIV care. ere was no mention of these issues in the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report.
Campaigners have long proposed that a fourth “90” be added to the 90-9090 targets, that 90 per cent of those who have reached viral suppression have a good quality of life. Achieving this cannot happen without a commitment to ending barriers that Black communities in Britain face, which are exacerbated by broader health, social, economic and structural inequalities.
e healthcare system is still a postcode lo ery. Dwindling access to holistic interventions in communities is a reminder that investment is needed to ensure that people living with HIV can thrive, not just survive. Ending stigma and discrimination must be a priority, particularly in healthcare se ings. Research published last year showed that public knowledge
“Decades of inequitable responses to HIV have left cracks in the positive picture of progress”
and a itudes of HIV lag behind reality.
Decades of inequitable responses to HIV have le cracks in the positive picture of progress made. Ensuring equity is a priority in the HIV action plan roll-out is paramount.