AIDSfree: Sadiq Khan – It’s vital London plays its role in tackling stigma and wiping out this disease forever

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan gives his support to our AIDSfree appeal and explains why this week’s Global Forum in London is vital in the battle against HIV

Raising Awareness: The Youth Stop Aids campaign outside Parliament. London is helping other cities to form an action plan

An HIV diagnosis used to be a death sentence but this is no longer the case. We have made great strides in medical research, minimising the impact the virus has on people’s day-to-day lives – but there is still so much more to do.

Despite significant progress, 15 people on average are still being infected every single day in our country.

In London, we are bringing together all those working to tackle HIV across our city and ensuring that Londoners can access the prevention, treatment and support they need.

As mayor I signed London up to meeting the UN’s 90-90-90 target – 90 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 90 per cent of people on treatment, and 90 per cent of people on treatment with undetectable levels of the virus in their blood, which means it can’t be passed on.

I am proud London met these targets in 2017. We are only the third city to achieve this goal, joining Amsterdam and Melbourne.

But we must go further – reducing new infections is a complex issue and requires access to preventative HIV treatment, which is why I will continue to call on the government to roll out drugs for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) on the NHS. Access to PrEP on the NHS would be a game-changer for preventing new infections.

Taking bold steps like this is exactly what is needed, which is why I have set an ambitious target of achieving zero new HIV infections, zero preventable deaths and zero HIV-related stigma and discrimination – aiming to wipe out Aids in our city by 2030.

Yet, regardless of the progress we are making in London, a global effort is the only way we will ever truly be able to end the Aids epidemic for good.

Through working with other cities we will be able to share invaluable expertise, do more to halt new infections around the world and ensure people get the treatment they need, while at the same time making progress to end discrimination and stigma.

The brilliant AIDSfree campaign by The Independent and The Elton John AIDS Foundation is doing vital work in this area – galvanising support and increasing awareness around the world of the steps we can take to end new infections.

Their AIDSfree Cities Global Forum, which is taking place in London on Wednesday, will bring medical experts, government ministers and mayors from five other cities under one roof to develop plans to create an Aids-free future.

I’m pleased that we will be able to share our knowledge and experience in London with some of the cities that need it the most, working with Delhi, Nairobi, Maputo, Kiev and Atlanta to form an action plan that will make a real difference.

In September, we will be leading the way again by hosting the first international gathering of Fast-Track Cities.

The 2019 International Fast-Track Cities Conference will bring together leaders from more than 250 cities across the world – all united by the goal to eliminate HIV by 2030.

Continuing to tackle the stigma that sadly still surrounds HIV will be essential if we are to end the spread of the infection in our city.

I’m sure our love and compassion towards people living with HIV has helped break down stigma 

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London 

I am sure that our openness, love and compassion towards people living with HIV has already helped to break down some of the stigma, contributing to the large falls in infection rates.

But, we all have a responsibility to continue to root out any stigma around HIV and to dismantle the remaining barriers to early diagnosis and treatment.

As a city, I believe it’s vital that we all play our role in doing what we can to end this disease forever – because stopping the spread of HIV is something that we can, and must, achieve.