AIDSfree: ‘NHS must focus on the fringes of society to keep up fight against HIV’

Aids expert Professor Glenda Gray warns that UK needs to target help towards vulnerable or it could face resurgence of virus

Professor Glenda Gray says a diversion of effort could cause a reversal in fighting the epidemic

The NHS in London must focus on “those on the fringes of society” or risk a “reversal” in fighting HIV, a leading doctor has said.

Professor Glenda Gray said the capital needs to continue to focus on its “vulnerable population” in order to drive down transmission rates of the virus.

The HIV and Aids expert was speaking ahead of the AIDSfree Cities Global Forum next Wednesday, when government ministers and mayors from six cities, including London, will be joined by medical experts to form a plan of action on tackling HIV together to create an Aids-free future.

The professor, based in South Africa, said: “It’s very important that this forum is being held in London because it highlights this is a problem for everyone. The West also has a problem – this is not just a problem for Africa. If you aren’t controlling the epidemic in the UK then you will get a resurgence of HIV and that would be devastating.”

She added: “In London you have to worry about the vulnerable population, the people who aren’t accessing the healthcare system: the sex workers, migrants, refugees. Those on the fringes of society are more vulnerable.”

The event, at The Conduit, Mayfair, will focus on the UN’s “90-90-90” targets” which aim to inform at least 90 per cent of people with HIV of their status, get 90 per cent of them on treatment and 90 per cent with an “undetectable viral load” where levels of the virus are so low it cannot be passed on.

London has already reached these goals but Professor Gray said more can be done in the capital.

The event follows the Independent’s campaign in partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation to create an Aids-free future.

The five other cities the campaign is focused on – Delhi in India, Nairobi in Kenya, Maputo in Mozambique, Kiev in Ukraine and Atlanta in the USA – are yet to achieve the UN’s targets. Professor Gray, who is president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council and is involved in two large-scale clinical trials into HIV vaccines, said it is important for healthcare systems around the world to understand the people with whom they are engaging.

“You have to have nurses, medical workers who understand refugees, understand what it’s like to be black, what it’s like to be LGBTQ.

“You have to create a healthcare system that doesn’t discriminate against you because of who you are but one that cares about you because you are a human being. A system that cares regardless of who you are.”

She added: “We need people at a global level, the best minds, the best resources, to beat this. Any diversion of effort from the epidemic will cause a reversal in the fighting the epidemic. It’s important that we don’t take our foot off the pedal now because if we do it will impact the work already done.”

Around the world, 37 million people are living with HIV and this figure is rising by 1.8 million people a year. In the UK 15 people are infected a day. The AIDSfree Cities Global Forum will be hosted by the Elton John AIDS Foundation along with Health Secretary Matt Hancock and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt.

The AIDSfree Global Forum is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson whose Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is undertaking the HIV vaccine trial in South Africa