The government claims it wants to improve public health and stand up for sexual rights. At the same time, it has decided to cut the budget for non-profit organizations working on HIV prevention. This does not make sense. We urge the government to reconsider.
In our time, research and care have made enormous progress in HIV prevention. Sweden has achieved the UN's 95-95-95 target by a wide margin. This means that more than 95% of people living with HIV are aware of it, 95% of them are on treatment and 95% have a functioning treatment. But this does not mean that we can consider ourselves ready.
HIV still exists and it affects the lives of many people. Men who have sex with men, migrants, transgender people and people who use drugs intravenously are some of the groups at increased risk of contracting HIV. These marginalized groups often face greater barriers in accessing care and information. This is where the knowledge, experience and efforts of non-profit organizations are crucial.
The Government and the Sweden Democrats now want to reduce the HIV grant by 19 million, and then phase it out in 2026 and 2027. This would mean that the grant is down to the 2004 amount - a halving in today's money. Unfortunately, the political signal could not be clearer.
Read the full debate article, signed by RFSL Stockholm's president Lovise Brade together with debaters from Posithiva gruppen, Convictus, RFSL Ungdom, Posithiva gruppen Norr, Posithiva gruppen Väst, Positiva gruppen Syd, HIV-Sverige, RFSU, Noaks Ark and RFSL on Altinget!
