Maggie Throup, Member of Parliament for Erewash, recently joined fellow MPs at a Parliamentary reception held in Speaker’s House to pay tribute to the music icon Sir Elton John and the personal contribution he made to the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS listened as Sir Elton spoke about his enduring commitment to eradicating the virus and remove the stigma for those currently living with the disease.
At the event the new Health Secretary, Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP, announced that the Government is providing £20 million of funding to expand its hugely successful opt-out HIV testing to 46 new Emergency Departments across England.
Maggie said: “Perhaps my greatest achievement during my tenure as Minister for Public Health was to launch the Government’s National HIV Action Plan, backed up with £23 million of funding to support the scaling up of HIV testing in targeted, high-risk populations and increasing access to the antiviral drug PrEP.
“I was therefore delighted that the new Health Secretary, Victoria Atkins, used the event to announce that the Government is investing a further £20 million to fund the expansion of the hugely successful opt-out blood borne virus testing programme for HIV and Hepatitis to 46 new Emergency Departments across England, including Derby and Nottingham.
“This highlights the Government’s committed to ending new HIV transmissions in the UK by 2030.”
Since it was founded in 1992, The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised over £500 million to support HIV-related programmes in over 55 countries.