London Councils welcomes NHS England's PrEP announcement

  • By JackGraves

London Councils has welcomed today's announcement by NHS England that it will expand the PrEP Impact Trial.

The trial is run by NHS England but participation is administered by local authorities. 

Cllr Ray Puddifoot MBE, London Councils’ Executive Member for Health & Care, said: 

“We welcome NHS England making more places available on the PrEP Impact Trial.

“HIV remains a major public health challenge – especially in London, where around 39,000 people live with the condition. HIV prevention is a priority public health issue for London boroughs and we work collaboratively through the London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP), which has made a major contribution to the capital’s progress on reducing HIV rates.

“PrEP is an important part of our combination approach to HIV prevention and NHS England’s decision will boost these efforts. However, the trial has cost implications for boroughs as public health commissioners. We look forward to receiving clarity over how the burden on boroughs will be funded.”

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors:

1. Facilitated by London Councils following the transfer of public health responsibilities to local government, the LHPP was established by the boroughs in 2014 in response to the previous decade’s increasing HIV rates in the capital. The LHPP oversees a free condom distribution scheme, provides outreach services targeting at-risk groups such as men who have sex with men, and runs the award-winning Do It London public awareness campaign which provides all Londoners with information about HIV prevention.  

2. Since 2014, London has made remarkable progress in addressing the HIV challenge. The most recent figures from Public Health England revealed a substantial decrease in London’s HIV diagnosis rates of 21 per cent in 2016-17.

3. London has joined the worldwide Fast-Track Cities initiative and is committed to achieving three ambitious HIV goals by 2030: zero new transmissions, zero deaths, and zero stigma.