Just Health to drive consultation on modern HIV provision

ViiV, which was established by GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer in 2009 and is dedicated entirely to treatment for HIV, wants to consult policymakers, charities, patients and clinicians on the case for HIV treatment reform.

The private company says the consultation is needed because of issues such as an ageing patient population and rising treatment costs.

The UK has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in Europe, partly due to the increase in life expectancy of HIV patients because of improved treatments.

ViiV launched the 'HIV Dialogues: Managing Change' initiative on Wednesday at the 18th Annual Conference of the British HIV Association in Birmingham.

Senior consultant Laura Chambers and new head of political relations Jon Spiers will lead the account.

Spiers said: 'Given the financial pressures on the NHS and the ongoing debate around health service reforms, there couldn’t be a better time to think about how to deliver the best possible HIV services.'

Meanwhile, Just Health has also launched a new pro-bono offering, the Just:: Academy, offering free training on lobbying, campaigning and PR for health charities in 2012.
 
The first Just:: Academy training session, An Introduction to Policy Influencing, takes place on 1 June, led by Jon Spiers, head of political relations.

This article was first published on prweek.com