ACT UP Call on Irish Government to act on HIV Crisis

On the eve of World AIDS Day, ACT UP Dublin is sounding an alarm to government, community stakeholders, and the public: Ireland is in the midst of an HIV crisis.

This morning in front of Department of Health Offices at Hawkins House, ACT UP installed an alarm clock to wake Ireland’s dormant institutions to the need for a renewed effort to address the expanding epidemic.

Thanks to advances in treatment and prevention, government has powerful new ways to reduce new HIV transmissions. ACT UP calls on authorities to do more than offer words. Government should devote greater resources, and take effective actions, to address the epidemic.

ACT UP also laid out a serious of facts and responses that the government should take in response to the crisis:

-Last year, Ireland recorded the highest number of new HIV diagnoses ever in the history of the epidemic. Gay and bisexual men are particularly affected, now constituting over half of new diagnoses. Even accounting for those previously diagnosed elsewhere, new diagnoses in the LGBT community have been increasing for over a decade.

—More people in Ireland are living with HIV than ever before. Yet government and community organisations are not doing enough to meet our ongoing needs.

—Ireland’s public spending on HIV prevention is inadequate and lags behind peer countries.

—Government delay in making Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) available will result in entirely avoidable HIV infections.

—Government must adopt a comprehensive and coordinated HIV strategy that links clinical and community efforts to halt transmission of HIV and to care for those with the disease.

—Government should permanently fund community-based HIV rapid testing (Know Now) and increase funding for our overburdened existing sexual health services.

—Government should bring health surveillance efforts up to par with peer countries.

At the same time, north of the border DUP politicians are facing criticism for their response to World AIDS Day. Former Minister for Finance Sammy Wilson said that he would not wear a red ribbon to raise awareness of AIDS because other diseases, which are "not always the result of lifestyle choices", affected people worse and deserved higher priority.

On Tuesday, DUP MLA Trevor Clarke wore a red ribbon during an Assembly meeting but admitted that he did not know that heterosexuals could get AIDS until it was recently pointed out to him by a local charity.

Mr Clarke is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly's health committee.