HIV Action Plan

Baroness Masham of Ilton Excerpts

Monday 18th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

As the noble Lord says, in March 2020 the Government announced that the HIV prevention drug PrEP would be routinely available across England in 2020-21. It is now routinely available in specialist sexual services throughout the country. The settings in which PrEP could be made available outside these health services, such as pharmacies, will be considered as part of the ongoing work on the development of the sexual and reproductive health strategy and the HIV action plan. We plan to publish the HIV action plan later this year to coincide with World AIDS Day on 1 December, and the sexual and reproductive health strategy shortly thereafter.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Will he agree with me that NHS England, public health, local authorities and voluntary organisations should work together to fight against HIV infection so that it does not become fragmented? Because of the coronavirus infection, many people think that HIV/AIDS has gone away: it has not.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for reminding us that HIV has not gone away. This is why the Government have an action plan. All noble Lords will agree on how important it is to tackle HIV and to raise awareness. The Government hope, in their plan and strategy, to be able to do this as soon as possible, and we remain committed to the goals previously set out.