Saving Lives is extremely proud to be attending Birmingham’s Fast Track Cities+ launch event this evening. Dr Steve Taylor, our Medical Director – and Clinical Lead of the city’s FTC+ programme – will be part of a signing ceremony marking the beginning of this exciting new phase for Birmingham’s approach to HIV.
FTC+ is a global network of four hundred cities worldwide that are formally committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 – the ending of the epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) – as well as the World Health Organisation’s goal
of eliminating Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C by 2030. In addition, FTC+ cities commit to achieving zero HIV-, TB-, and hepatitis-related stigma.
As a charity that began life in Birmingham – and remains headquartered here, even as we work on exactly these priorities nationwide – we could not be prouder of a city … or keener to contribute to achieving the FTC+ objectives.
“It’s fantastic that Birmingham is joining the Global Fast Track Cities initiative,” says Dr Taylor. “This is a real opportunity for all stakeholders in Birmingham to come together with a unified target of ending new new transmissions of HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C (The blood borne virus’s) and TB infections by 2030.
“However, we can only do this if we act together, we need to bring together the NHS – both secondary and primary care – the city council, sexual health services, drugs and alcohol services and the third sector all to work together.”
At Saving Lives, we have extensive outreach and delivery networks across the grassroots and medical institutions of the city – and we stand ready to do our part. Here’s to an exciting new time in Birmingham.
