Aberdeen is set to become an official Fast Track City in a bid to boost services for people living with HIV.
City councillors today unanimously backed a motion from Councillor Sarah Duncan for Aberdeen to join the partnership of cities across the globe which are dedicated to meet the commitments contained in the Paris Declaration on HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The Paris Declaration ‘90-90-90’ targets are to:
- ensure that 90% of people living with HIV know their status
- improve access to anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for people living with HIV to 90%
- increase the proportion of people living with HIV on ART with an undetectable viral load to at least 90%.
The declaration also commits partner cities to reduce stigma and discrimination related to HIV to zero – and also sets long-term goals by 2030 of zero new HIV transmissions, zero HIV-related deaths and zero HIV-related stigma.
Integration Joint Board (IJB) chair Cllr Duncan said: “Aberdeen already meets the 90-90-90 targets but there is more work to do to reach the 2030 goals to reduce discrimination and stigma.
“We need to reduce the incidence of late diagnosis of HIV in the city and maintain the number of people who are on treatment with antiretroviral treatment. We also need to put more focus on our hard-to-reach groups to ensure they engage with treatment and support.”
The Fast Track City commitments are in Iine with the aims of the Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership’s Strategic Plan 2019 – 2022, which promotes person-centred care and peer support and also match the ‘Resilient, Supported and Included’ aims of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan.
The City Council decision will see Lord Provost Barney Crockett sign the Paris Declaration on behalf of the Council.
Councillors also instructed the Chief Officer of the Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership to work with Community Planning partners to produce an action plan to improve performance on the 90-90-90 targets and make progress towards the 2030 goals.
Progress on implementing the Action Plan and work done as part of the Fast Track Cities initiative will be reported back to Community Planning Aberdeen and the IJB.
Glasgow City Council committed to be a Fast Track City at the end of 2018 and the aim is to have all seven Scottish cities also signed up, making Scotland the first country in the world to have all its cities as signatories of the Paris Declaration.
