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<p>The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach to drive forward progress
and achieve our goal of ending new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) transmissions,
and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV-related deaths within England
by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit
equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including through testing, and high-quality
care for those with a positive HIV status.</p><p>While the disruption of the COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in HIV testing, we are pleased that services
are recovering, and testing rates among gay and bisexual men are now at the highest
level on record, with a 23% increase from 2019 to 2022. However, more progress is
needed across all groups, which we are targeting through various initiatives.</p><p>As
part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department funds the HIV Prevention Programme, which
annually runs a National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaign to encourage those in underrepresented
groups, such as women and black ethnic groups, to test for HIV. In 2023, we introduced
the self-testing option, which we know is very popular with harder to reach groups.
During the 2024 NHTW campaign, self-testing orders from black African women nearly
doubled when compared with 2023, and orders of these kits by heterosexual women increased
by 39%.</p><p>The introduction of opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments,
in the areas with extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence, is also a crucial strategy
to help us identify those living with undiagnosed or untreated HIV. By normalising
testing as part of an emergency department attendance when blood is drawn, we help
reach communities that are currently underserved by testing opportunities, such as
black African and black Caribbean ethnic groups and women, and reduce the number of
people presenting with a late HIV diagnosis.</p><p>A subgroup of the HIV Action Plan
Implementation Steering Group (ISG), the Retention and Re-engagement in Care Task
and Finish Group, is providing advice on increasing the number of people retained
and re-engaged in care and receiving effective medical care, in particularly considering
women and other groups disproportionally affected by HIV, which will be reviewed by
the ISG in due course.</p>
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