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HALF-HAARTED

In recent issues Positive Lives has mentioned the apparent growing complacency around HIV. Most of those articles were about the complacency within the general population, and in some cases the professionals involved in HIV treatment and care. However, It appears that we forgot to mention the most powerful group of people in the UK who seem to also have developed this post-HAART syndrome - The Government. They have kept Health Authorities and Social Services waiting until the start of this financial year before announcing the new 1999/2000 HIV Budget Allocations. This in itself caused unnecessary strain on the professionals already working beyond their remit. When they finally did announce them, they seem to have shown that they too are suffering from this new malaise.

Consider these FACTS:

	New HIV infections in the United Kingdom rose last year by 9•5%, similar to that from ‘97 to ‘98.
	The national HIV Prevention Budget for 99/00 has been increased by.......nothing. Zero. Zilch...not even for inflation.
	The National Treatment and Care Budgets have increased by 2•7% ...despite the ever increasing demand for triple combination therapy (HAART) and the recent appearance of long term side effects which may require additional (or changes of) treatments.

When you couple this information with the recent disturbing report that on average English Health Authorities spent only 20% of their HIV Prevention budgets on gay men, despite the fact that they accounted for 60% of new infections, it makes us wonder if the powers that be have any grasp of the realities of this disease, let alone the simple arithmetc.