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HIV & AIDS in the UK - The Way Forward
Recently in the UK there has been a massive increase
in the number of heterosexual people testing HIV positive. This
increase is mostly due to the immigration of people who were
infected in other countries, predominantly sub-Saharan Africa.
Certain categories of immigrants are not entitled to AIDS treatment
on the NHS, and the government is proposing legislation which will
deny help and treatment to even more people in the UK who are not of
UK origin - a political decision, rather than an economic one.
Another reason for this increase may be partly due to the increase
in the number of people being tested - indicating that people are
aware of the risks of HIV, but that they still take risks.
There has also been a decline in the number of AIDS
cases, as a result of improvements in medication and treatment. This
means that people who are HIV positive are living longer, and the
corresponding rise in the number of people who are HIV positive
means that there is a larger pool of people who are able to transmit
the virus than previously.
Teenage pregnancy rates in England have fallen but
the rate among girls younger than 14 has stayed the same despite
governmental efforts to reduce it. The government chooses to focus
on pregnancy rather than sexual health - perhaps because discussing
sexual health makes for uncomfortable sound bites. This is a vivid
illustration that sex education for young people is not working.
Transmission of STIs continues to rise, particularly
amongst younger people, which indicates that the 'safe sex' message
has still not got through. According to the National Survey of
Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles', more people are having more sexual
partners, and the age of sexual debut has fallen from 17 to 16. More
men sex workers, and more people are having anal sex. Some reasons
for this rise in STI transmission may be the increased use of
alcohol and drugs, the increased sexualisation of the media, and
peer pressure. This indicates that society generally has forgotten
the risks of HIV transmission. There has been a slight increase in
condom use, but this does not balance the rise in risky behaviour.
Sexual health remains an embarrassing subject, and many people are
too shy to seek help until obvious poor health compels them to.
More recently, the media has been concerned with
stories of HIV positive migrants entering the UK to take advantage
of free NHS treatment. This has lead to a huge increase in
heterosexual cases of HIV diagnosed in the UK. However, it also has
the potential to add to the complacency amongst UK citizens about
HIV - giving the impression, once again, that it is only a problem
for some other group - in this case, immigrants.
Treatment facilities for STIs and HIV are often
overcrowded and inadequate. This dissuades people from going to be
tested, and increased waiting lists mean that there is more
possibility of onward transmission before people receive treatment.
GUM clinics are overwhelmed and under funded, and funding for sexual
health and family planning is given a low priority . In recent years
the government has recommended that all sexually active women under
26 in the UK be tested for Chlamydia - without providing any extra
funding for this huge undertaking. The Chief Medical Officer's
end-2003 Annual Report says that waiting times have increased at
clinics to the point that 28% of emergencies were not seen within 48
hours, and that 29% of patients with STD symptoms waited for more
than two weeks for an appointment.
A visit to a GUM clinic is a crucial opportunity to
detect HIV, and the government is recommending that all gay men
should be tested. Again, however, no extra cash has been provided,
and an estimated 59% of men who have sex with men 'leave the clinic
with their disease undiagnosed'. |
