 Y begsylfa chyfnwys ymwneud hwnnw mewn brofio ddechrau cei i gychwynwydol yn yr Ad World Aids Day 2023, mae'r ddechrau willydd yn gychwynwyd hwnnw, rheon fwy o ddod, ac sy'n demand o Gymraeg yr adnod cyd-gwbl, ac yn gweld clywed o'r ddechrau i gyd o'r debat yw sy'n ddim yn arsigol yn gyfaint. Mae radd yn speicio gyda'r ddiddordeb. Ac rydyn ni ddywed fan ni'n ddim gael'u gweld ari ac yn ymwneud Marking world age day, which falls this Friday 1 December, and I'm looking forward to hearing the speeches from other members throughout this debate. HIV remains a condition that has a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of people globally. However, with early diagnosis and effective therapy, HIV is no longer the terminal illness in many nations that it was in the 1980s, and it's now established that with effective treatment, the virus cannot be transmitted to Of course, there remains adverse impacts on physical and mental health together with the requirement for lifelong healthcare and treatment. Living with HIV can worsen existing inequalities and people may also experience additional HIV related stigma and discrimination. Therefore, there is both a real opportunity and a real need to stop HIV from being passed on in the first place. By the end of 2021, there were 6,415 people known to be diagnosed and living with HIV in Scotland, compared with 5,617 in 2019. HIV can and does affect anyone of any age, sexuality, ethnicity or gender. However, we also know rates of access to HIV specialist treatment and care is relatively high in Scotland. Based on 2019 data, 90 per cent of people diagnosed were attending specialist HIV services, 98 per cent of those attending were receiving antiretroviral therapy and 95 per cent of people treated had achieved an undetectable blood level of HIV. Over the last decade, the annual number of people diagnosed with HIV for the first time in Scotland has declined, reducing by 37 per cent between 2010 and 2019 and by a further 54 per cent 2021. Thanks to scientific and pharmacological developments and the expertise of our leading sexual and reproductive health services, if on the right treatment, a person who can live with HIV in Scotland a long, happy and healthy life. However, we can go further and the goal of eliminating HIV transmission is now in sight. On World AIDS Day three years ago, the then Public Health Minister, Jo Fitzpatrick, set the goal of ending HIV transmission in Scotland by 2030. To make good in that commitment, excellent work has been undertaken to examine what is working well to drive down new transmissions and how those successes can be further capitalised on, as well as investigating what more we could do. Back in 2020, the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Health Protection Network to develop a proposal on how elimination could be achieved. That led to the establishment of the HIV transmission elimination oversight group, which published its report on World AIDS Day last year, with a set of recommendations to inform the Scottish Government on how the elimination target can be met. Within its report, a total of 22 proposed actions were set out, which fall within five key pillars of intervention. Those are testing, education, including awareness raising and stigma reduction, combination therapy, entry into and retention in specialist HIV care and contact tracing. One of the specific asks is for the Scottish Government to commit to piloting opt-out HIV BBV testing in areas of the highest HIV prevalence. A similar opt-out testing scheme was launched in England, and it proved to be a successful intervention in identifying cases of HIV and other blood-borne viruses. There are estimated to be 500 people living with undiagnosed HIV in Scotland, and it is vital that we invest in ways to find all of those people if we are to meet the 2030 goals. I wrote to the Public Health Minister about this earlier this year, and in a response, the minister advised that there would be, in a quote here, an element of prioritisation for the recommendations. That will be based on a number of factors, such as available capacity within services, likely relative impact and timescales for delivery. Identifying undiagnosed and unknown HIV and blood-borne viruses should be a key public health priority. I asked the minister to consider that recommendation as a matter of urgency. That action could literally save lives. I look forward to hearing more from the minister and I sum it up about the actions that the Scottish Government will be taking in driving forward those recommendations to ensure that the 2030 goal becomes a reality. World AIDS Day affords us the opportunity to come together to stand in solidarity with all people living with HIV. It allows us to remember those who have lost their lives to HIV and AIDS-related illnesses over the decades, as well as to celebrate activists and charities who have refused to let HIV stigma stand in the way of progress. As charities, like the terms Higgins Trust, say, nowadays stigma is more harmful than HIV itself. The stigma around HIV is not what it once was, but much more needs to be done to educate people about the virus, as a lack of knowledge about the medical progress over the years is still fueling that stigma. Research by terms Higgins Trust and the Scottish Government has laid bare attitudes to HIV in Scotland today. According to the study, only 35 per cent of people would be happy to kiss someone with HIV. 25 per cent would feel worried about receiving medical treatment from a doctor or nurse who has HIV. Nearly half of people in Scotland would feel ashamed to tell others if they were diagnosed with HIV. Last month, I was pleased to lodge another motion to the Parliament, as well as to ask a question to the First Minister regarding the launch of the new national HIV anti-stigma campaign led by the terms Higgins Trust and funded by the Scottish Government. Aired on TV in Scotland, the new TV advert provides an overdue update on the huge medical progress in the fight against HIV. It is the first TV advert on HIV since the UK Government's infamous Don't Die of Ignorance campaign, featuring falling tombstones 40 years ago, and any of us who were old enough to remember that campaign, I am sure, will remember it. Alongside providing up-to-date information about HIV, the 62nd TV advert aims to tackle the stigma still surrounding the virus, which usually results from misconceptions about how HIV has changed since the 1980s and 1990s. We still have a way to go in tackling stigma, but public information campaigns like that can make a difference, which in turn will save lives. Before I close, I would like to remind members of the photo call that my colleague Karen Adam is sponsoring after FMQs on Thursday to mark World AIDS Day. I encourage all members to join and show their support. We all cross-party share the same commitment in doing what we can to eradicate new HIV transmissions by 2030. It is a visionary and ambitious target to meet, but one that I know that we can and must achieve. I refer Parliament to my register of interests as a practicing NHS GP, and I thank Claire Hawkey for bringing this debate. On World AIDS Day last year, the Scottish Government announced the laudable goal to end HIV transmission in Scotland by 2030. For those living with HIV, it is a lifelong infection that can be managed successfully by anti-retroviral therapy, or ART-art. There is no vaccine or cure for HIV, but by taking daily tablets the virus won't replicate and progress to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, which we know as AIDS. We now have drugs that reduce the likelihood of becoming infected in the first place. For those who think they have been exposed to the virus, we have PEP. For those who are HIV negative but at high risk of HIV infection, we have PREP, which is pre-exposure prophylaxis medicine. This reduces the risk significantly. The three groups with the highest rates of HIV are gay and bisexual men, people from countries with high HIV prevalence, especially Sub-Saharan African countries, and drug users who share drug-injecting tools and people who have sex partners who inject drugs. 30 years ago, HIV AIDS was a death sentence. Now, the medical profession considers HIV as a chronic disease. In fact, the prognosis and life expectancy for a person living with HIV is actually better than someone with type 2 diabetes. Let's return to the Scottish Government's goal to end transmission within seven years. Yes, we have PREP for those at high risk of contracting the virus, but the Scottish Government have yet to add another key weapon to its armory, namely testing for HIV—in particular, opt-out testing—when someone presents at A&E departments. Opt-out means that an individual seeking other health services can be tested for HIV AIDS without the need for pre-test counselling unless the individual opts out of such testing. Let's consider best practices. England launched its HIV AIDS opt-out testing two years ago. The one-year stats have been phenomenal. Tangible progress has been made in tackling health inequalities and reaching populations. These are population groups who could be more or less likely to access HIV testing through traditional routes. The first 12 months of the programme alone, nearly 2,000 new diagnoses of HIV and Hep C were found, including 343 new HIV diagnoses. Additionally, 209 people were found to be previously diagnosed with HIV, but not receiving life-changing treatment—what we refer to as lost to care. This intervention also assists in tackling late diagnoses, which in 2022 made up 22% of first diagnosis here in Scotland. Early diagnosis not only reduces morbidity and mortality, but it also results in savings across health and social care. In the context of England, the first 100 days cost around £2 million, but an estimated £6 million was saved in long-term care costs. Opt-out testing is not a new concept and has been a nice testing guideline since 2016. There are an estimated 500 people living with undiagnosed HIV in Scotland, and every day that opt-out testing is not on offer. Opportunities to test for HIV and other blood-borne viruses are being missed across our country. It is key to introduce this into Scotland's emergency departments as a matter of urgency. Ahead of 2023 World's AIDS Day, while there is much to welcome regarding our knowledge of the disease and the advancements in diagnosis, treatment and management, there is still so much to do to reach the goal of zero transmission by 2030. With too many people going undiagnosed, opt-out testing is key. I thank my colleague Claire Hoy for bringing in this debate to the chamber today. 40 years ago this year, a team of doctors at the Pasteur Institute in France reported that they had isolated a new virus that they believed was the cause of AIDS. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the World Health Organization estimates that as many as 113 million people worldwide have been infected with the virus and as many as 51.3 million people worldwide have died as a result of HIV. Four decades on, too many across society are unaware of the basics of transmission of blood-borne viruses or of the great scientific advances in treatment and prevention. Far too many are unable to see what the age in HIV is. This year, in partnership with the Scottish Government, I, like my colleague Claire, welcome the new public health campaign against HIV and AIDS. I vividly remember being a child in the 1980s, the don't die of ignorance campaign that was shocking and fearful and I'm sure did nothing to help alleviate the stigma at the time. The ignorance, fear and misunderstanding about HIV and AIDS were at their peak and the school playground was not immune to it. I remember children tagging each other in mock and horror claiming, now you have AIDS and those children and many adults didn't know then that HIV could not be passed on through touch. The Princess of Wales played her part in dispelling that myth on a visit to the UK's first specialist HIV and AIDS unit, where she shook hands with and hugged patients. That was 1987. In 2023, sadly, stigma continues to take its toll. According to research funded by the Scottish Government, as my colleague Claire said, and I think that this is really worth repeating, only 35 per cent of people in Scotland would be happy to kiss someone living with HIV. I just found that quite sad to read that. That is despite it being known since the 1980s that the virus cannot be passed on through saliva. Almost half of people in Scotland would be ashamed to tell other people that they were HIV positive and just a third of Scots are aware that those living with HIV on effective treatment cannot pass it on or that undetectable equals untransmitable. This week, my office spoke with a number of people living with HIV about the stigma that they face day to day, and I wish to share with the chamber some of their testimonies. A 47-year-old woman living with HIV told my office that she went into hospital for a routine bladder examination. Upon informing the doctor of her HIV status and treatment, she was told to wait in the waiting room in her medical gown. Her examination was then cancelled as a result of concern for the use of equipment for later patients. When she went to get her Covid jab upon telling the nurse that she had HIV, which was under control, the practitioner pulled her hands away abruptly and walked away saying, I need to go and get gloves. This week, I have heard of doctors and nurses putting on two or even three pairs of gloves when dealing with patients living with HIV. The importance of tackling stigma is twofold. It is about making the lives of people living with HIV better, and that is reason enough. The myths about HIV and the stigma surrounding the virus ultimately discourage testing, which delays or prevents treatment, which in turn results in further transmission. We must do all that we can to eradicate the ignorance and this new campaign, which is a good start, but we have to go further. Scotland can be the first country in the world to end new cases of HIV and to do so, however, we must tackle the stigma wherever it rears its ugly head. Let us never forget that the H in HIV stands for it. Let us never forget that behind every diagnosis and behind every disclosure that there is a human being. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this annual debate, as we mark World AIDS Day 2023. I want to thank Claire Hockey for her contributions for bringing the motion and securing today's debate. It is important that the Parliament continues to shine a light on HIV in Scotland and the on-going efforts to reduce and eliminate transmission. World AIDS Day each year presents us with an opportunity to do a number of different things. It gives us an opportunity to recall and remember those who have lost their lives over many decades as we have heard, but also to renew our support and our fight for the living, particularly those who are managing their condition as we have heard from other colleagues' contributions and those who are living in a situation in which they can take action to prevent transmission and to move us forward in our ambition to reach zero by 2030. Let us stand with those in Scotland tonight and around the world who are living with HIV. As we have heard from colleagues, we know that a diagnosis is one that still carries with it far too much stigma and far too much fear and uncertainty. It is imperative that the Parliament and public figures continue to call out stigma and to offer support to people who have received a diagnosis. Estimates from Public Health Scotland show that up until the end of the last calendar year, around 6,600 people in Scotland are living with HIV. It is encouraging that statistics are around diagnosis, which remains at 93 per cent of people living with HIV, and around treatment, where 93 per cent of people receiving antiretroviral treatment had an undetectable viral load. There are positive moves that we hear year on year when we gather in this chamber to debate those issues. Every year, there is a theme for World AIDS Day. This year, we are focusing on let communities lead. That is particularly important in the context of the excellent work that is being done in communities across Scotland in partnership with third sector organisations and charities in order to drive forward our ambitions towards 2030. I would reference organisations such as the Terence Higgins Trust, which we have heard about already this evening, but I would also like to say something in particular about Waverly Care and the work that it has done in continuing to focus us on that journey towards zero new transmissions in 2030. I was very pleased to host a number of events in the past year focusing on the work. I had a round table here in Parliament that some colleagues in the chamber attended where we heard some of that lived experience that Karen Adam referred to in her speech and about the stigma and the challenges that still exist in so many people's lives here in Scotland living with HIV. I was also pleased in the summer to host the launch of the Get to Zero campaign by Waverly Care in the evening reception here in the Parliament that was very well attended. Once again, we were able to hear about the ambitious targets to get to 2030, but we heard clearly from Waverly Care and others that the Government must continue to keep pace, to do more and to continue to take the actions in order to drive us towards that deadline, because none of us want to be standing here in 2030 if, of course, we are successful to still be here and be talking about a missed target. We want to be talking about the target that we have achieved and that we have moved Scotland into a place where there are no new transmissions. In terms of reflecting upon communities coming together, we still have more to do. We still have more to do to tackle stigma. We still have more to do to ensure that we support people better who are living with HIV. Of course, the Government has more to do, but the support of everyone in this Parliament to achieve that 2030 target, I look forward to the Minister's update in that regard and I am very grateful for the time this evening to share those views. I welcome the debate and congratulate my colleague Claire Hawke on securing it. I led the debate previously in the last session in 2020 and I am pleased to continue my support for World AIDS Day and the opportunity it presents to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. I also thank Terence Higgins Trust, Waverly Care and HIV Scotland for their briefings and for the invaluable work that they do to support those who are living with HIV. I want to start by emphasising that thanks to scientific developments, a person living with HIV in Scotland today is, if they are on the right treatment, they can live a long and happy and healthy life and they cannot pass the virus on to others. We have heard colleagues mention that already. Once a person has received a diagnosis, receives appropriate treatment and becomes undetectable in their viral load of the HIV virus, they cannot pass on the virus through sexual transmission. Waverly Care, along with NHS boards across Scotland, including in Frees and Galloway, continue important work to promote the need for people to know their HIV status. They are also promoting the undetectable equals untransmittable U equals U message. When preparing for this to be reflected on my time at Cedars-Ina medical centre in the heart of West Hollywood in Los Angeles when I worked there as an operating room nurse in the early 90s, this was when combination anti-retroviral drugs were just starting to be used. The stigma associated with HIV and AIDS was absolutely rife back then, including from professional colleagues. I am glad that we have moved on and that Scotland is leading the way in HIV and AIDS stigma reduction. Just to note the work of LGBT youth Scotland in their recent life in rural report, it demonstrated that HIV and AIDS stigma is more prevalent in rural areas, so we must pay attention to that and ensure that rural Scotland is targeted to achieve stigma reduction also. When I led this debate in 2019, I spoke about the progress that was made in Scotland to meet the United Nations 1990-90 targets. They stated that by 2020, 90 per cent of people living with HIV would be diagnosed, 90 per cent of those diagnosed would be receiving treatment and 90 per cent would have an undetectable viral load. Despite the measures caused by Covid-19 pandemics, Scotland has met those targets. 92 per cent are now diagnosed, 98 per cent are receiving treatment and 94 per cent have an undetectable viral load, so that is good news. I pay tribute to NHS Scotland staff such as NHS Dumfries and Galloway, sexual health and bloodborne virus nurse consultant, Mari Murray, for the trailblazing work that they do to support those living with HIV and AIDS. Mari, in particular, has broken down many of the barriers for people coming forward for screening and treatment and she has been fundamental in helping to reduce HIV and AIDS stigma, particularly among colleagues in Dumfries and Galloway. We have heard already from colleagues that today in Scotland HIV is considered a manageable long-term health condition with treatments like PrEP and PEP, which allow people to live long, healthy lives. I caught up with the Terence Higgins Trust at our conference in September and was pleased to hear about their new joint campaign with the Scottish Government. Stigma is more harmful than HIV. This landmark campaign, the first on TV for 36 years, takes the topic of HIV to the Scottish public and provides an insight into stigma people living with HIV in Scotland face to day. It also provides important messages on HIV transmission, treatment and care. I encourage members right across the chamber to engage with the campaign, share it on your social media and promote the importance of people knowing their HIV status through testing. Testing has a central role to play in reducing the number of new infections, and it is as simple as a wee finger prick blood sample. My ask to the Scottish Government is not to take the foot off the pedal and to continue public awareness campaigns of the importance of sexual health tests, including for HIV and AIDS, and to continue to show that HIV and AIDS stigma has no place in Scotland. I thank Clare Haughey for securing this important debate on the world's AIDS day, which was acknowledged on December 1. I would also like to express my condolences to everyone who has lost someone they love to HIV and AIDS. I also give my thanks to all the activists and organisations who have championed this issue for decades now in the campaigns for better treatment, awareness and diagnosis of HIV. Organisations such as Tent, Higgins Trust, National AIDS Trust and Waverly Care have undertaken amazing work to support people living with HIV and AIDS, and I thank them for the work that they do in keeping those campaigns alive in the public sphere and in the minds of politicians here in Holyrood. I welcome the Scottish Government's pledge to end HIV transmission in Scotland by 2030. This has to be our ambition for public health policy, but we still have great progress to make to achieve this deadline. I welcome the new sexual health and bloodborne virus action plan and look forward to engaging with the minister on how we turn this into practice. It is heartening that here in Scotland we are reaching towards the UN AIDS schools that were set out for 2025. Public Health Scotland estimates that of the 6,600 people who are presumed to be living with HIV, 93 per cent of those are diagnosed. With that progress, we have to acknowledge the need to get to zero transmissions as the ultimate aim and to expand education and awareness around testing to ensure that individuals who are or who are maybe at risk of contracting the disease are aware of the testing that is available in Scotland so that they can receive the necessary treatment. Increased and accurate diagnosis also means that the public health responses can be more swift and targeted, vital to mitigate the current inequalities that may exist. Trends and diagnosis are also changing. For the first time since 2007, heterosexually acquired diagnoses have exceeded in number and proportion than those among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Scotland. I would like to point out that trends and diagnosis need to be treated with caution, but the point remains that to ensure equality across society we need to be vigilant and repeat the message that anyone could be at risk of contracting HIV. HIV treatment is an area that has seen significant medical advancement over recent decades, and on that I would like to specifically draw attention to PrEP medicines. PrEP, as we have already heard, is a medicine that reduces your chances of getting HIV from sex or injection drug use. When taken as prescribed, PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV. It is important to draw attention to that as a life-saving drug that is available for free in Scotland from NHS sexual health clinics, and that will have already saved lives. In December 2022, the Scottish Government announced that they were developing an online e-prep clinic to make it possible for participants to order medication without needing to attend a specialist clinic. This is vital to enable wider access to healthcare, including to people in rural areas, where access to sexual health clinic is limited by distance and availability. Beyond online clinics, pharmacies and other community health services might also offer accessible opportunities in communities where access to sexual health clinics is difficult. Action is needed to explore current provision and the combination of delivery that would make PrEP most accessible to all who need it. That work should also ensure that education and awareness goes hand-in-hand with equitable provision. We also need to ensure, as many others have said, that stigma in this area is continually tackled. We should all know our HIV status, and I doubt that there are many of us in the chamber that do for certain. We all agree that we should have opt-out testing. That would not only tackle stigma but also accelerate our progress towards zero transmission. HIV does not discriminate, attitudes do, and that needs to end if we are going to get to zero transmissions. I thank Clare Haughey for securing the debate, and I express my gratitude to the Terence Higgins Trust and Waverly Care for sending comprehensive briefing to members and, of course, for the work that they do day in and day out, campaigning for and supporting people living with HIV. Today, we remember the lives lost to AIDS, we celebrate the resilience of those living with HIV, and we renew our commitment to ending this pandemic. HIV has had a devastating impact worldwide and has claimed the lives of millions, but despite the immense challenges, progress in the fight against HIV has been made. Anti-retroviral treatments have transformed the virus from a death sentence into a manageable condition, allowing people with HIV to live long and healthy lives. I am sure that all of us in this chamber fully support our national mission for Scotland to get to zero new HIV transmissions by 2030. I recognise the efforts of the Scottish Government over the years, but we have a way to go to ensure that we reach that 2030 goal. I fully support the three main asks of campaigners that the Scottish Government should introduce a pilot of optite bloodborne virus testing, launch a Scottish national HIV testing week and ensure that people in Scotland have easy access to PrEP. I am keen to hear the minister's views, but I hope that the Government's attitude is just let's do this. Let me turn to tackling stigma, and we have heard much about that today. I, like many colleagues, remember the AIDS advertising campaign of the 80s, which filled a young me with dread and fear. That campaign, without a doubt, bred stigma. Times have changed, but, unfortunately, stigma still exists. In the P&J on World AIDS Day in 2021, my fellow Aberdonian and friend Paul Robertson, who is living with HIV, wrote, "...all too often people living with HIV still experience stigma linked to discrimination and judgement about their personal lives. Public attitudes and understanding of HIV have not kept pace with the advances that have been made in medical care." Ending stigma matters because it is one of the biggest barriers to people accessing HIV, testing and care. I am sure that many in this chamber will agree with Paul Robertson's words. Another person living with HIV spoke to the anti-stigma focus group in May of 2023 and said, "...stigma kills, HIV doesn't." It is the job of all of us here to help to end that stigma by blowing the myths, by listening to the voices of lived experience and by acting on what they have to tell us. Together, we can end stigma, improve lives and get to zero. I invite Jenny Minto to respond to the debate minister at seven minutes. I, too, am grateful to Clare Holly for securing this important debate. I thank all my colleagues for their thoughtful contributions. I would also like to welcome those joining us in the gallery tonight. As Paul O'Kane said, let communities lead. I think that they certainly did at the event that you held that I was privileged to attend in Parliament. As colleagues have reflected, far too many people have lost their lives to HIV and AIDS-related illness in the past four decades, leaving behind families and friends who continue to feel the pain of their loss. We must keep them in our hearts and minds. I reflect on what a couple of contributions with regard to rural Scotland, specifically Emma Harper and Gillian Mackay, and I attended Obern Pride this year. I heard about the impacts of living in a rural community. I am really interested to hear more about the work that is happening in Dumfries and Galloway. On World AIDS Day last year, my predecessor Marie Todd announced the publication of Scotland's HIV transmission elimination proposal and committed to providing Parliament with an annual progress report. It is my pleasure to provide an update today on the significant work that has been undertaken over the past year and to announce the further actions that the Scottish Government is taking to achieve our transmission elimination goals. You will know that our ambitious goal is to end new cases of HIV in Scotland by 2030 with an interim target of achieving and maintaining the UN AIDS 959595 goals by 2025. That is 95 per cent of individuals with HIV having been diagnosed, 95 per cent of those diagnosed are on treatment and 95 per cent of those on treatment have a suppressed viral load. Currently in Scotland it is estimated that there are 6,600 people living with HIV, of whom 93 per cent have been diagnosed. Of those engaged with HIV services, 98 per cent are receiving treatment and of those 93 per cent were recorded as having an undetectable viral load. Those are reassuring figures but were not there yet and as Kevin Stewart has eloquently said, there is more work to be done. The proposal published last World AIDS Day contained recommendations that were wide-ranging and rightly ambitious. Over the past 12 months, an expert implementation group has been working to prioritise those recommendations to ensure that they can be progressed in the most effective way possible to give us the best chance of achieving the results that we all desire. The establishment of the implementation group was an important commitment that Ms Todd made last year. I am delighted to say that the outcome of the group's hard work will be seen shortly in the publication of the Scottish Government's HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan, which we intend to publish in the coming weeks. I am also happy to provide an update on two other commitments that the Scottish Government made last World AIDS Day. The first of those was to fund a marketing campaign to address the fear and stigma that persists around HIV, and, as others have said, it can be more harmful. As others today have highlighted, I would like to commend and thank the Terence Higgins Trust and our other partners who contributed to delivering the outstanding campaign informed throughout by people who lived with lived experience of HIV. I reflect on the contributions from Karen Adam, Claire Holly and Paul O'Kane and Kevin Stewart. I, too, remember the horrendous heartbreaking advert of the 1980s of the falling tombstones and reflect on the contrast on the current advert that we have worked together with our colleagues to produce. I do not know how many of my fellow members are avid soap fans, but if you missed the launch of the campaign in a primetime slot between Emmerdale and Coronation Street last month, then I do hope that you have seen it some way, whether through television, social media, billboards or the fantastic news and media coverage that it generated. As Emma Harper said, please share. To see the reality of living with HIV and the harm of HIV stigma portrayed so powerfully and discussed so widely felt like a landmark moment and one that I hope will make a real difference to the lives of people affected by HIV. The other major announcement last year was funding for a pilot of e-prep clinics. In 2017, Scotland led the way in offering free prep or a preventative medication that prevents HIV infection to those at the highest risk of acquiring HIV. Since then, we have seen a significant reduction in new HIV diagnosis among gay and bisexual men. However, it is essential that we expand access to prep to reach a wider range of communities in Scotland. The e-prep pilot will support that. I met recently with the team at Glasgow Caledonian University and was delighted to hear about the excellent progress that they are making on this three-year project. The team is currently undertaking vital development work that is necessary for the next stages of a safe and successful pilot. I am pleased to announce today that we are working with NHS boards to carry out three pilots of BBV opt-out testing in accident and emergency units. Those pilots will help to better understand the undiagnosed population of HIV and viral hepatitis, as well as the acceptability of that kind of initiative in Scotland. Those projects are fantastic examples of the ground-breaking work that is already underway to achieve our transmission elimination goals, but there is a great deal more besides. I am pleased to announce that our new sexual health and blood-borne virus action plan has been published today. The action plan is supported by £1.7 million of funding a year of which £800,000 has already been allocated to a range of projects that support the actions within the plan. Along with improving sexual health and wellbeing, the plan includes a recommitment to our HIV transmission elimination goals, and funding has been allocated to projects that support that. Time today does not allow me to do this justice to all of these projects, but they include investment in research, developing education and training, improving access to information and resources, strengthening our data and digital capabilities, exploring the feasibility of providing prep and primary care and delivering community-based testing initiatives. Those are outlined in detail within the sexual health and blood-borne virus action plan that is published today and the HIV transmission elimination delivery plan, which will follow in the coming weeks. I know that the chamber will be unified in support to end HIV transmission within Scotland by 2030 and improve the lives of people living with HIV in Scotland. As Karen Adam reminds us all, the H is for human.