Our future aims

The pace and intensity of work in prevention activity needs to be reinvigorated. The growing complexity of living with HIV will see demands on both specialist HIV services as well as a need for improved communication and work with primary care, social services and community-based agencies. Pressures on families and individuals in need of extra support will put the spotlight on charities at a time when economic policy will adversely affect employment prospects with the safety net of benefits strained to breaking.

Ways in which HIV Scotland will respond include:

• building strong alliances within the Blood-Borne Virus (BBV) and Sexual Health Framework
• supporting the HIV sector at NHS Board and voluntary levels
• engaging people living with HIV through collective advocacy, and working towards service improvement
• working closely with Scottish Government and partner agencies at UK levels
• improving Parliamentary and local authority links to keep HIV on the agenda

We want to strengthen our work also with communities affected by HIV. The commitment and resources available within those communities can be harnessed to help identify where joint effort may be most effective.

We will build on:

• previous work of the African & Minority Ethnic HIV Project and Healthy Gay Scotland
• connections with academic institutions to draw upon expertise and provide new opportunities
• networks across BBV and sexual health interests, as well as in the wider public health arena

Whilst focusing on the lifespan of the HIV Action Plan and the annual outcomes of Respect and Responsibility, HIV Scotland will look beyond 2014. Based on the changing nature of HIV and the epidemic as well as upon the fluidity of society, the environment is likely to present new as well as familiar challenges.

HIV Scotland will maintain an overview and will challenge complacency and inertia. We will keep people living with HIV at the heart of what we are and what we do.