Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:07 pm on 14 June 2022.
Can I thank you, Minister, for your statement today? Of course, it was very interesting to read the plan when it dropped into my inbox this morning. I very much welcome the plan today, and, of course, as a nation, we've made huge strides, haven't we, since the fight against HIV back in the 1980s? And as a very young person in the mid 1980s, I just about remember some of the issues around the stigma at the time. And that remained the case for some time afterwards. But I think we've made huge strides in fighting that, but, of course, there's more to do.
Now, the English HIV action plan and the Scottish HIV elimination plan both include annual reporting to Westminster and Holyrood. It wasn't mentioned in your plan today, but is it your intention to bring forward annual progress reporting to this Chamber here? Certainly, I would support that, because I think that would maintain the momentum and increase that accountability that I think we need.
Will Wales meet the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target by 2025, which is, of course, a global target set? I just wanted to check that that is your intention, Minister. I don't think it set out that in the plan.
In the testing section, there is a very important commitment of an anonymised seroprevalence study undertaken by Public Health Wales for HIV and blood-borne viruses. This will, of course, ensure that we know if a version of A&E opt-out testing would work in areas like Cardiff and potentially Wrexham. So, can I ask why that doesn't appear in the plan as an action in its own right?
Unlike England, there's no focus on partner notification—current and previous partners—of those diagnoses, and statistically that's the most impactful focus for testing, as I understand. It does go unmentioned in the plan, so I wonder, Minister, would you outline if you intend for the plan to do this? In the report, there are no targets for sexual health clinics to ensure that all their services offer a HIV test. So, this could be a good tool to implement, as I feel it would, of course, increase testing and reduce health inequalities as well. So, I wonder if, Minister, you could look to implementing this, as it would be good, perhaps, to include this as a key performance indicator for sexual health clinics.
You mentioned, Minister, that you want to introduce HIV education into the school curriculum, which I very much welcome, but I would like, perhaps, a little bit more clarity on that. To which age groups will this be introduced? I think it's important to understand that. I think there are a few issues around here to consider in terms of what age of children this will be taught to and when this will be introduced. Will HIV education become part of the same general teaching about STIs that is already in place, or will this be taught at a more in-depth level?
I think I saw in your press release, Minister, there's a mention of £3.9 million for further development for online testing. Does that sum include the—? Is that sum included for the full finance available to deliver the actions within the plan, or do you anticipate further funding being made available?
But, overall, Minister, I very much welcome, and of course I would encourage people to come forward and get tested, so we can eradicate infection and break the stigma. Thanks, Minister.