Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to update Members on the introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis, which we'll now refer to as 'PrEP', one year after it’s introduction here in Wales. PrEP, as you know, is an antiretroviral medication, which, if taken correctly, can prevent HIV for those at risk.

Public Health Wales undertook work with an independent HIV expert group in November 2016 to assess the public health effectiveness of PrEP. A health technology assessment of this treatment was also undertaken by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group in April 2017. On 28 April 2017, I announced my decision to provide the drug Truvada as PrEP to all those who would benefit from this preventative treatment as apart of an all-Wales study. That study will last up to three years. It started in July 2017 and it will provide evidence for the acceptability and the effectiveness of PrEP in HIV prevention. Public Health Wales and the independent HIV expert group are overseeing this study, and health boards in Wales began providing PrEP in July last year through integrated sexual health clinics. Sexual health services have worked hard to introduce this intervention and I am pleased to say that all integrated sexual health clinics in Wales have been providing PrEP from the outset.

Any patient for whom PrEP is deemed suitable is required to have a negative HIV test and a baseline blood test to ensure they have no underlying health conditions. They are also required to receive counselling before PrEP is provided. Between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018, 989 patients in Wales were deemed eligible for PrEP. Almost half of these individuals were new or relatively new to sexual health services. It is important that individuals who participate in high-risk sexual behaviour engage with our sexual health services both to protect themselves and others. And making PrEP available has encouraged this. 

I can confirm that at least five individuals have been diagnosed with HIV as a result of their engagement with sexual health services for PrEP. These individuals can now receive the care that they need to stay well. A total of 559 people started on PrEP during the first year of this study and I am very pleased to say that no new cases of HIV have been diagnosed within this group of people. However, services did diagnose a number of significant sexually transmitted infections within this group. There were 70 cases of gonorrhoea and 15 cases of syphilis. That is to be expected in a high-risk group. What is important now is that they are attending sexual health services regularly, being diagnosed early and being treated for both their own health gain as well as preventing the spread of those infections to others. 

Members may have seen coverage of a story over the summer recess about the Terrence Higgins Trust having to fundraise to make PrEP treatment available. I want to reassure Members and the wider public that this problem relates to England and not to Wales. I have decided to take a national approach to PrEP and HIV prevention here in Wales in direct contrast to England, where a national approach is not being taken and a charity is looking to raise funds for PrEP treatment.

Our latest figures show a 32 per cent decrease in new HIV cases in Wales, returning to 2011 levels. As important as PrEP is—and there is no doubt that PrEP reduces HIV infection—it is one part of the wider strategy to reduce new infections of HIV. PrEP needs to be taken correctly and supported by wider, preventative sexual health services.

I look forward to updating you on further progress regarding our targeted efforts to reduce the transmission of HIV here in Wales. I will of course keep Members updated on the PrEP study and the planned wider improvements to our sexual health services.