NAT welcomes Government commitment to maintain national HIV prevention funding

The National AIDS Trust (NAT) has welcomed a commitment from the Minister for Public Health, Jane Ellison, to maintain current levels of funding for national HIV prevention for a further year.

In a letter to fellow Conservative MPs Mike Freer and Simon Kirby, which was exclusively reported in PinkNews on Friday, the Minister said: “I want to take this opportunity to make absolutely clear that this Government will protect funding for HIV prevention.”

Charities last week spoke out against unsubstantiated claims that were plans to slash funding for HIV Prevention England – which focusses on reducing HIV transmission in gay and bisexual men and ethnic minorities – from £2.45m to just £1.2m from April 2015. The government hadn’t actually announced any planned cuts in services or budgets.

A petition allowed users to lobby the Government to reconsider the cut – and to maintain the current level of funding to prevent HIV for the next three years. 

Deborah Gold, CEO of NAT, said: “It is great news that the funding will be maintained for next year.” Shae added: “We now need to use the next year for a proper discussion with all stakeholders and communities about the scope, shape and funding of a new multi-year programme from 2016/17.”

• Dec 01 2023

16 TV stars you grew up watching who later came out as LGBTQ+