The government published the HIV Action Plan 2025 to 2030 in a bid to reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths
The HIV Action Plan 2025 to 2030 established clear goals for the future of care in England. Published on World Aids Day on 1 December, 2025, it set out an ambition to reduce new HIV infections by 90% on 2010 levels by the 2030 deadline – and maintain an annual 5% decline after that date.
The plan will also look to reduce AIDS-related deaths by 90% on 2010 levels by 2030, and secure the sustainability of the HIV response beyond that deadline.
The ‘incredible’ progress already made on HIV was recognised by Wes Streeting, former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in his foreword. ‘When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, an HIV diagnosis was more often than not a death sentence,’ he said.
‘Today, the picture is so much brighter. Early diagnosis, better treatments and easier access to them, mean people living with HIV can lead long and healthy lives, with no risk of passing on the virus.’
The latest annual HIV statistics from the UKHSA suggest improvements are ongoing. In 2024, there were 738 deaths due to all causes of mortality among people with HIV in the UK, down from 751 in 2023. There were also 3,043 new HIV diagnoses in 2024, a 4% decrease on 2023. At the same time, there was a 4% increase in the number of people accessing HIV care in England.A further report by the UKHSA in May – the HIV Action Plan monitoring and evaluation framework 2026 – found England had once again met the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. That means 95% of people living with HIV have been diagnosed, 95% of those diagnosed are receiving treatment, and 98% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads.
The progress has been backed by funding. According to The HIV Action Plan 2025 to 2030, the NHS spends around £358m on medicines for HIV treatment, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and around £461m on HIV care and treatment services annually.
However, Mr Streeting’s foreword argued ‘there is more to do to ensure that everyone, everywhere, gets the support, treatment and care they need’. Ensuring widespread and equitable access to care is the core aim of the plan, developed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in partnership with UKHSA and NHS England.
Following consultation with more than 250 system partners – from primary care to local government, charities and people living with HIV – the strategy established five key pillars:
- Prevent: The plan aims to ensure individuals understand how HIV is transmitted and how they can protect themselves with interventions such as PrEP. That target was backed by the announcement of a £4.8m national HIV Prevention England programme, plus a drive to improve access to and awareness of PrEP – especially in remote areas and among harder-to-reach groups.
- Test: To improve timely diagnosis, there will be a focus on expanding opt-out testing in emergency departments and establishing HIV home testing in the NHS App.
- Treat: To ensure all patients living with HIV are accessing treatment, there will be a £9m national retention and re-engagement initiative for those who have lapsed in their care, plus a focus on strengthening pathways in local sexual health and HIV services.
- Thrive: Reducing stigma around HIV is another key aim of the plan. It will commission anti-HIV stigma programmes across trusts that provide opt-out testing in emergency departments, and encourage wider training for health and social care staff.
- Collaborate: As part of its focus on collaboration, the strategy vowed to work with local partners to carry out a comprehensive HIV needs assessments, which will inform the publication of local plans designed to offer joined-up care.
The plan also established a particular focus on improving outcomes among five populations disproportionately affected by HIV:
- ethnic minority gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM)
- White GBMSM
- Black African heterosexual men
- Black African heterosexual women
- ethnic minority heterosexual adults, which includes heterosexual adults of Black Caribbean ethnicity, Black other ethnicity, Asian ethnicity and other ethnicity or mixed ethnic background
ICBs were named as crucial to the success of the strategy, as they will now be responsible for commissioning adult HIV services.
‘Delivery of the HIV Action Plan will require the involvement of local authorities, ICBs and emerging pan-ICB commissioning structures as the main commissioners of HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care services,’ it says. ‘Therefore, regional directors of public health and ICB representatives have particularly important leadership roles at system and place.’
However, the strategy detailed concerns raised by ICBs in its roundtable events. Stakeholders voiced the need for transparent, long-term funding structures, plus clarity on ICB responsibilities and minimum service standards.
There is also ongoing scrutiny over the wider approach to sexual health services, which are commissioned locally. In January, the DHSC vowed to develop a timeline for a ‘combined sexual and reproductive health framework’, following repeated calls for a national sexual health strategy.
This report will explore the key targets for ICBs in delivering on the HIV Action Plan 2025 to 2030, what best practice looks like, and the key considerations and concerns around meeting government targets.
This report has been initiated and funded by MSD. MSD has had no input into the content of this non-promotional report.
Click here to download and read the full report.
