Focus on
United Kingdom
OVERVIEW
New HIV infections
In 2018, around 4500 people (73% of whom were male and 27% were female) were newly diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom, a 28% decline from 2015 and a 6% decline from 2017.
Public Health England reports that the decline is driven by the trend in new HIV diagnoses among gay men and other men who have sex with men, which have decreased by 39% since the 2015 peak, to around 1900 diagnoses in 2018. During the same period, the number of new HIV diagnoses also declined by 24% among people who acquired HIV through heterosexual contact, from around 2300 in 2015 to 1550 in 2018.
Public Health England reports that the intensification of combination prevention has been critical to the decline in HIV incidence among gay men and other men who have sex with men since 2012. Over the past decade, combination prevention has evolved, with recommendations for very frequent HIV testing for people having unprotected sex with new or casual partners, a shift to earlier and immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy after diagnosis and the scale-up of pre-exposure prophylaxis availability from late 2015.
90–90–90
The 2017 estimates from Public Health England indicate that the 90–90–90 targets have been met in the United Kingdom.
Of the estimated 100 000 people living with HIV in the country in 2017:
- 92% knew their HIV status.
- 98% of people who knew their HIV-positive status were on antiretroviral therapy.
- 97% of people living with HIV who were on treatment were virally suppressed.
Overall, 87% of people living with HIV in the United Kingdom in 2017 were estimated to have an undetectable viral load, which keeps them healthy and prevents onward transmission of the virus.
Living with HIV
Just over 96 000 people were seen for HIV care in the United Kingdom in 2018. More than half (around 52 000) were white and more than a quarter (around 28 000) were black African.
The population of people living with diagnosed HIV infection is growing older―in 2018, around 40% of people accessing HIV care in the United Kingdom were aged 50 years or more.
Deaths
In 2018, around 470 people with HIV infection in the United Kingdom died from any cause. Since 2009, there has been a 20% decrease in the number of deaths among people living with HIV in the United Kingdom.
Progress towards ending the HIV epidemic in the United Kingdom: 2018 report. Public Health England.
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How London’s first dedicated HIV ward changed the AIDS response
Opened in 1987 by Princess Diana, the Broderip Ward at the Middlesex Hospital in London was the United Kingdom’s first ward dedicated to caring for HIV patients. UNAIDS Senior Adviser on Science, Peter Godfrey-Faussett, worked on the Broderip Ward as a newly qualified doctor and remembers it as an intense and highly emotional period.
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Unwavering care for people who inject drugs on the streets of Glasgow
In Scotland, United Kingdom, the widespread availability of HIV prevention and harm reduction programmes and the expansion of antiretroviral treatment have been effective in controlling the spread of HIV since the 1980s. However, in 2015 there was a worrying outbreak of HIV among people who inject drugs in Glasgow, with the number of new HIV diagnoses tripling in just three years.
UNAIDS spoke to Ruth McKenna from Waverley Care, Scotland’s leading charity providing HIV, hepatitis C and sexual health care and support to people across Scotland, who explained some of the work that the charity has being doing to respond to the outbreak.
“Glasgow has a good needle–syringe exchange programme, so initially there was uncertainty as to why the increase was happening,” said Ms McKenna.
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Interview with UNAIDS PrEP expert Rosalind Coleman
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is delivered by a pill made of a combination of medicines. It has proved to be highly effective in preventing HIV-negative people from acquiring the virus. It is being rolled out or piloted in many countries across the world, including the United Kingdom. UNAIDS PrEP expert Rosalind Coleman explains.
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Five years on: 300 Fast-Track cities come together
More than 700 delegates from cities around the world have gathered in London, United Kingdom, for the first Fast-Track cities conference. The meeting, hosted by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) in partnership with UNAIDS and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), is focusing on the efforts and progress that cities have made as well as the challenges and lessons learned over the past five years.
On World AIDS Day 2014, the Fast-Track cities initiative was launched in Paris, France, with 26 cities signing up to the initiative. It has now expanded to more than 300 cities and municipalities.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, confirmed his commitment to the HIV Fast-Track response in his city, which accounts for 38% of all people living with HIV in the United Kingdom.
“I am proud of what we have achieved, but we need to go further,” Mr Khan said. “I wholeheartedly support the United Kingdom’s bold ambition to get to zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination.”
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Mr Gay England brings visibility to HIV stigma
When Phillip Dzwonkiewicz won the Mr Gay England 2018 contest, he wanted to use his platform to talk about HIV. After years of struggling with his HIV-positive status, he no longer wanted to hide.
“I now live one life,” he said. “I live openly and it’s a massive weight off my shoulders.”
The next year, when competing in Mr Gay Europe 2018―he was runner up―he again used the platform to bring more visibility to HIV. “What still surprises me is how people tell me, “You don’t look like you have HIV”. It shows how misconceptions still exist,” he said.
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Stigma makes HIV life-threatening
“If I am meant to be a leader, I needed to be truthful,” said Lloyd Russell-Moyle, British Member of Parliament, reflecting on his bold move to reveal his HIV-positive status in the House of Commons in late November 2018, days before World AIDS Day.
He explained that for years he would honour people for their outstanding work in the HIV field and yet he never opened up and was honest with people about living with HIV.
“The more people don’t talk about it, the harder it is for everyone. As a Member of Parliament my job involves speaking out, being an advocate and helping people in their journey,” Mr Russell-Moyle said.
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