Hannah Blythyn MS has hosted this year’s Fast Track Cymru World AIDS Day reception at the Senedd.

The annual reception brings together health professionals, charities, campaigners, and people with lived experience from across Wales to mark World AIDS Day and reaffirm the national commitment to ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Speaking ahead of the event, Hannah Blythyn MS said:

“I am pleased to sponsor the Fast Track Cymru World AIDS Day event at the Senedd. World AIDS Day is a moment to remember those we have lost, recognise the enormous progress we have made, and to recommit to tackling stigma, improving access to testing, and ensuring that everyone living with HIV can live well.

Wales is leading the way as a Fast Track Nation, and our HIV Action Plan continues to support prevention, early diagnosis and innovative approaches to care. I’m proud to stand with all those working to deliver a Wales with zero new HIV transmissions today and every day.”

World AIDS Day, held each year on 1^st December, serves as a chance to shine a spotlight on the Welsh Government’s HIV Action Plan for Wales 2023–26, which sets out a comprehensive approach to prevention, testing, treatment, and tackling HIV-related stigma.

Wales continues to see record levels of HIV testing, supported by the national, free and confidential online Test and Post service. More people than ever are accessing testing, with over 33,000 test kits distributed across more than 480 community settings – a development that is helping to improve early diagnosis and ensure quicker access to care.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care, Jeremy Miles MS said:

“Earlier this year, I confirmed the funding to support the delivery of the HIV Action Plan over the remainder of its lifetime. A significant element of this has enabled the continuation of our national, free and confidential online Test and Post service and the expansion of free test kits in local communities.

All health boards have now signed up to the Fast Track Paris Declaration, making Wales a Fast Track nation. It demonstrates our commitment to ensuring no one will be left behind in accessing equitable healthcare and confronting HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

This is a remarkable achievement, and we will issue a tender in January to fund an-all Wales coalition to build on our progress.”

Over the last year, Wales recorded a 20% reduction in new HIV cases, a significant milestone that demonstrates the progress being made towards the national goal of achieving zero new transmissions by 2030. This decline reflects both increased awareness and the effectiveness of prevention and testing initiatives.

At the World AIDS Day Senedd Reception, speakers highlighted the ongoing investment into awareness work, education initiatives and training for NHS and social care staff. These programmes aim to tackle HIV-related stigma, improve understanding, and ensure that people living with HIV receive inclusive, compassionate and well-informed support in all settings.

Fast Track Cymru Executive Director, Sarah Maslen-Roberts, added:

“Ending new transmissions is not just about medicine or data or diagnostics. It is about listening. It is about trust. It is about seeing people fully; without judgement, without assumptions, without stigma.

We have come so far, and we should absolutely celebrate that. But we must also carry forward the humility and determination that got us here. This movement was not built on complacency. It was built on courage.

So today, as we honour World AIDS Day, let us remember those we’ve lost. Let us honour the survivors and the fighters. Let us acknowledge the communities who carried this work long before it was recognised, long before resources existed, long before governments listened.

And let us commit, fully, collectively, unapologetically, that Wales will not just be the first Fast Track Nation in name, but in action.”