While it is good more people are getting tested for HIV, these figures show significant challenges remain in reducing HIV infections, despite the progress of recent years.
Responding to the latest UKHSA data showing that the number of heterosexual men and women newly diagnosed in England with HIV has increased by more than 30 per cent since 2022, Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“While it is good more people are getting tested for HIV, these figures show significant challenges remain in reducing HIV infections, despite the progress of recent years.
“Demand for sexual health services is on the rise, which reinforces the need for a 10-year sexual health strategy to tackle infection rates and ensure that sexual health services are properly funded.
“The progress made in supporting people with HIV, enabling them to live independent, fulfilling lives, and the fact that it is no longer the death sentence it once was, is a major public health success story."