About Fast Track Cities London

Fast Track Cities is a global movement to end HIV by 2030. London is already leading the way in diagnosis and treatment, and the team at Fast Track Cities London want to be the first city in the world to end new cases of HIV.

They want to get to zero – zero new HIV infections, zero preventable deaths and zero stigma by 2030, making sure everyone with HIV is living well.

Working as a partnership of organisations, including the Mayor of London, NHS England, UK Health Security Agency, Integrated Care Systems, Local Councils, the voluntary sector and people living with HIV, the programme has five major workstreams for 2023-2026.

HIV Ambassadors

Terrence Higgins Trust is delivering the HIV Ambassadors Programme in partnership with Fast-Track Cities London.

This programme trains and supports people living with HIV to become Ambassadors – using the power of lived experience to challenge misconceptions, break down barriers, and promote understanding.

Survey feedback from Q2 (July-Sept 2025) participants shows a dramatic improvement in HIV knowledge and reduced stigma:

• 94% decrease in misconceptions about transmission via biting.
• 68% reduction in fear of needlestick transmission.
• 100% increase in respondents reporting no need for extra precautions when caring for people with HIV.
• Confidence in offering HIV tests doubled, and confidence in discussing HIV rose by 45%.

London HIV GP Champions

Primary care has a vital role in identifying, supporting and sustaining care for people living with HIV – who can face stigma, missed testing opportunities or disconnected care across services.

The GP Champions initiative addressed this by placing 16 GP Champions across London’s five integrated care systems (ICS) to work alongside HIV consultants and voluntary and community organisations to lead change from within primary care.

Results at a glance:

• 29% increase in HIV testing in southwest London (from 7,910 in 2023 to 10,232 in 2024)
• Over 2,025 London primary care professionals trained on stigma and testing
• One-third of eligible patients were offered statins through GP-led initiatives in Islington
• 56% increase in statin prescribing in City and Hackney
• 100s of people living with HIV re-engaged in HIV care with insights from dashboards and audits

An independent evaluation by King’s College London offered five clear recommendations to sustain and build on the success of the London HIV GP Champions model:

• Extend and sustain the programme beyond the pilot to maintain momentum
• Fund HIV consultant involvement to reflect their vital role in the model
• Develop shared metrics to track progress while allowing for local flexibility
• Provide local incentives to support GP practice-level engagement
• Reframe HIV as a long-term condition, enabling better integration into routine care