Report warns of Tory cuts to HIV and AIDS resources

A new report by STOPAIDS, Frontline AIDS and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights (APPG) has warned that government cuts to HIV/AIDS funding could be “setting the stage for a resurgence of the [HIV] pandemic”. Earlier this year, the government confirmed that funding for UNAIDS would be set at £ 2.5 m, compared to £15 mil in 2020, causing concern that the changes would “affect the provision of life-saving HIV prevention and treatment services around the world.”

The new report explained that the global HIV response has already been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic: “The global HIV response is now teetering – caught in a perfect storm of waning political and public engagement, diminishing funds, and the global shock of Covid-19.” As a result, the funding cuts may carry a “heavy human and financial toll” by negatively impacting global health provisions and reducing access to vital HIV/AIDS-related resources.

Baroness Barker, vice-chair of the APPG on HIV, added: “There couldn’t be a worse time for the government to cut so much funding. Our report highlights the devastating impact that the cuts are already having and how it’s jeopardising decades of progress. Britain is and can be so much better than this. I urge the government to think again. We must save lives and get the HIV response back on track.”