This week, in time for World AIDS Day (1 December), we have published the latest HIV data from England on HIV Lens. This is part of Watipa’s ongoing commitment to simplifying access and visualisation of public health data to support advocacy and the tailoring of services to meet the needs of diverse communities in local contexts.
HIV Lens is an interactive mapping tool that visualises the HIV epidemic across England. It provides an overview of trends in HIV diagnoses together with the most recent data in relation to testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), treatment and care, allowing anyone with an interest in HIV to delve into data by local area or by population group.
This year we have updated nine of the indicators with the latest HIV data (2023) from UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA), and have introduced two new indicators:
- 1. the proportion of people who had an HIV test at a sexual health clinic, and
- 2. the proportion of people declining a test. These data will be useful in informing testing programs at a local level.
Under development since 2018 and launched in 2020 by Watipa and HIV information charity NAM aidsmap, HIV Lens uses data provided by UKSHA. In July this year, after 37 years of health journalism, NAM aidsmap sadly closed.
I was lucky, and very grateful, to be able to carry on my role as Project Manager for HIV Lens. The NAM aidsmap closure was such a shock to everyone involved in the charity, as well as the wider HIV community, and it has meant so much to be able to continue to work on one of its projects.”
Amelia Jones, Project Manager, HIV Lens
HIV Lens uses publicly available government data from the UKHSA’s HIV and AIDS Reporting System (HARS). HARS is a comprehensive surveillance system that collects data from all National Health Service (NHS) HIV and Sexual Health services to inform the HIV epidemic and care provided to people living with HIV.
“Great progress has been made to reduce HIV transmission, however it is highly unlikely that England’s 2025 target of 80% reduction in new diagnoses will be met. Most of the progress has occurred in white gay and bisexual men but this success has not been seen in other groups, with rises in diagnoses among ethnic minority gay and bisexual men and in heterosexual adults, particularly outside London. We can only meet the 2030 ambition to end HIV transmission by ensuring prevention and treatment are truly accessible for all populations.”
Alison Brown, Consultant Scientist in the HIV and AIDS Reporting Section (HARS), UKSHA
HIV Lens is a useful resource for:
- Communities and organisations advocating for local programmes and services,
- Policymakers,
- People planning and designing HIV services (HIV Commissioners),
- Members of Parliament and local Councillors,
- Healthcare professionals,
- Researchers,
- Media professionals, and
- Anyone who wants to know more about HIV in a particular area of England.
Our plan for 2025 is to evolve the partnership powering HIV Lens, and expand its reach to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland building on a pilot undertaken earlier this year. By World AIDS Day 2025, we plan to have a central place to view HIV data for all four countries in an easy-to-use and accessible format.
The latest HIV data that we’ve published on HIV Lens shows that HIV transmission is not over. Although huge progress has been made – including effective prevention and treatment – there is still so much work to be done.
We are grateful to the support of Gilead Sciences for the funding for HIV Lens and UKHSA for the provision of the data.