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EDITORIAL

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This issue of HTB continues our coverage of the 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections with reports on antiretrovirals, treatment strategies, pregnancy and PMTCT, and hepatitis coinfection.

CROI is one of best resourced conferences for online access to presentations and abstract, and we hope these report will encourage you to view the originals online.

Futher reports will follow in the next issue.

STOP PRESS: i-Base funding withdrawn: urgent request for letters of support

As this issue of HTB went to press we learned that the London Health Commissioners have withdrawn funding for all i-Base projects.

For the last two years we have received £50k (just under 20% of our annual budget) towards the treatment phoneline and information services, adherence support publications (the BHIVA-recommended treatment passport) and treatment workshops.

Public funding stabilised the project sufficiently to continue to provide HIV Treatment Bulletin and the five i-Base treatment guides free to all individuals and clinics, and to run additional treatment workshops with community groups.

In retendering for services the London Commissioners declined to tender for any existing project and refuses to contribute towards the costs of any i-Base services...

No publications, no treatment workshops, no advocacy training, no phoneline support, no email services, no online Q&A services, no translations of treatment publications, no website.

• The i-Base phoneline has been provided expert peer-advocacy support for over five years, and have the cumulative experience from having spoken to thousands of individual patients.
• Over the last two years the UK-CAB has developed into a representative network of advocates and peer advocates.
• We have distributed thousands of treatment guides - ordered by request from clinics.

The commissioners think that no patients or clinics in London want or need these services.

We think this is unfair and is not reflective of the needs of London patients and clinics.

If you use or have used i-Base services as a London patient or clinic, please email letters of support to:
ray.appleby@kc-pct.nhs.uk
hong.tan@londonscg.nhs.uk

It would help us if you could copy any correspondence to:
simon.collins@i-Base.org.uk

i-Base employs three full-time and four part-time staff for all our projects. Five of the seven staff are HIV-positive. The funding decision, for which we are told there is no appeal, threatens these posts and the services we provide.

Thank you for your support...

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