The UK Government has marked World AIDS Day with the release of its HIV Action Plan 2025–2030 – and we are encouraged to see a clear commitment to expanding both testing and prevention.
Backed by £170 million of funding, the plan pledges to scale-up testing by:
- Investing £108 million (from April 2026 to March 2029) into opt-out HIV testing in EDs in very high and high HIV prevalence areas.
- Initiating a £5 million trial allowing home HIV testing kits to be ordered through the NHS App.
- Establishing a new £4.8 million national HIV prevention programme (2026 to 2029), focused on targeted testing and promoting combination prevention for high-risk groups.
- Promoting opt-out HIV testing within primary care in areas of very high and high HIV prevalence and championing opt-out testing in sexual health services.
Since opt-out testing was introduced in selected A&E departments three years ago, more than 2.8 million HIV tests and 7 million blood-borne virus tests have been carried out, resulting in over 5,000 new diagnoses.
These figures underline the impact and effectiveness of the programme, ensuring people receive lifesaving treatment at the earliest opportunity while helping to reduce onward transmission.
We welcome the actions set out in the new plan, which could also serve as a blueprint for wider adoption of opt-out testing for other conditions across the health system.
The UK in vitro diagnostics industry stands ready to support the Government in delivering these measures and helping to achieve the goal of ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.
