Exclusive: Sadiq Khan pledges to make PrEP treatment more accessible

Exclusive: Sadiq Khan pledges to make PrEP treatment more accessible

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced his support of limiting HIV transmissions in an exclusive interview with GAY TIMES.

Sadiq Khan has pledged to ensure there are no new HIV infections in London by 2030 if he is re-elected on 6 May.

Speaking to GAY TIMES, the Mayor of London said he is committed to working ‘‘tirelessly” to achieve this goal.

“I’m really pleased that we signed up to it when I became mayor, the UN’s 90-90-90 target and we’ve managed to exceed that and break the targets we set ourselves in relation to trying to reduce the numbers of new HIV emissions,” the mayor said over Zoom.

The UN’s 90-90-90 target refers to 90 per cent of people living with HIV who know their status, 90 per cent of people with diagnosed HIV on treatment, and 90 per cent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.

Following his pledge, Sadiq Khan has set the goal for London to become “the first global city to have zero HIV cases in 2030”.

Monitoring transmission rates in London is key for Khan and the mayor hopes conversations around HIV will help destigmatise the virus.

“We’ve taken aboard some of the recommendations made by the HIV 2020 Commission, and the big game-changer for us is to rapidly increase the numbers of people who’ve been tested for HIV,” Khan told GAY TIMES.

Khan also revealed he has been tested twice to help  “get rid of the stigma and to encourage others to be tested”.

“The more you’re tested … the earlier you know have, you can start receiving treatment and, in particular, the antiretroviral drugs can start making a difference.

“We want to reduce the number of new cases and the good news is, because of the work we’ve done with lots of great community groups and others, last year we saw a 10 per cent reduction in new cases of HIV, and I’m confident with progress, by 2030, [there will be] zero new HIV cases in London.”

The post Exclusive: Sadiq Khan pledges to make PrEP treatment more accessible appeared first on GAY TIMES.



Exclusive: Sadiq Khan pledges to make PrEP treatment more accessible

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced his support of limiting HIV transmissions in an exclusive interview with GAY TIMES.

Sadiq Khan has pledged to ensure there are no new HIV infections in London by 2030 if he is re-elected on 6 May.

Speaking to GAY TIMES, the Mayor of London said he is committed to working ‘‘tirelessly” to achieve this goal.

“I’m really pleased that we signed up to it when I became mayor, the UN’s 90-90-90 target and we’ve managed to exceed that and break the targets we set ourselves in relation to trying to reduce the numbers of new HIV emissions,” the mayor said over Zoom.

The UN’s 90-90-90 target refers to 90 per cent of people living with HIV who know their status, 90 per cent of people with diagnosed HIV on treatment, and 90 per cent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.

Following his pledge, Sadiq Khan has set the goal for London to become “the first global city to have zero HIV cases in 2030”.

Monitoring transmission rates in London is key for Khan and the mayor hopes conversations around HIV will help destigmatise the virus.

“We’ve taken aboard some of the recommendations made by the HIV 2020 Commission, and the big game-changer for us is to rapidly increase the numbers of people who’ve been tested for HIV,” Khan told GAY TIMES.

Khan also revealed he has been tested twice to help  “get rid of the stigma and to encourage others to be tested”.

“The more you’re tested … the earlier you know have, you can start receiving treatment and, in particular, the antiretroviral drugs can start making a difference.

“We want to reduce the number of new cases and the good news is, because of the work we’ve done with lots of great community groups and others, last year we saw a 10 per cent reduction in new cases of HIV, and I’m confident with progress, by 2030, [there will be] zero new HIV cases in London.”

The post Exclusive: Sadiq Khan pledges to make PrEP treatment more accessible appeared first on GAY TIMES.





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