New HIV prevention fund launched by government

The government has announced the launch of a national funding scheme to support local voluntary-led HIV prevention projects that aim to target groups at high risk.

Voluntary organisations are being invited to apply for national funding to support various new and innovative interventions, with the application phase commencing this week and running until the end of July.

The total available fund for 2015 to 2016 is up to 500,000 pounds.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said: "We want everyone to enjoy good health so we need to be more bold and ambitious in how we tackle this issue. So I am very interested to see what innovative ideas come out of this exciting new fund."

Currently, there are an estimated 107,000 people living with the virus in the UK, of whom around one-quarter – 26,100 – are unaware they have HIV, and are thus at risk of unknowingly passing on the virus to others.

The risk of infection is higher in certain groups of the population, including men who have sex with men and members of black African communities.