What is Fast Track Cymru
Fast Track Cymru is a network of Fast Track Cities across Wales working to collectively reach the UNAIDS targets in all Welsh cities, towns and seven local Health Boards. It is currently funded to March 2025 by the Welsh Government and employs four staff; a Manager and three part time Development Workers who support the local collaborations. It is hosted by Pride Cymru and has an Advisory Council which includes key stakeholders from across Wales.
At present Fast Track Cymru has four active regions – Cardiff & Vale, Newport, Swansea Bay, and North Wales (covering the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board area).
Each of these regions has a coalition of interested parties in the health board area, including HIV clinicians and other health professionals, local authorities, academic researchers and community groups working on sexual health locally. While each region is autonomous, they all feed into the national Fast Track Cymru network to work together and inform best practice.
Fast Track Cymru is committed to achieving the UNAIDS 95/95/95 targets, as well as reaching zero new transmissions of HIV in Wales by 2030 and the goals of the Wales HIV Action Plan.
What the Wales HIV Action Plan means for Fast Track Cymru
The first action in the Wales HIV Action Plan was to establish and fund the Fast Track Cymru network to build on the successful pilot work in Fast Track Cardiff & Vale. Fast Track Cymru is closely involved in the implementation of many of the 30 actions in the Plan, often working collaboratively with others.
What is Fast Track Cities?
Fast Track Cities is a global initiative whose core partners include the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) and the joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Since 2014 the Fast Track Cities network has grown to more than 500 cities and municipalities that are committed to attaining the UNAIDS 95/95/95 targets:
- 95% of all people living with HIV diagnosed
- 95% of all people diagnosed with HIV on treatment
- 95% of all people on treatment having an undetectable, un-transmittable viral load
Achieving zero stigma is now a fourth target, and attainment of these targets is seen as the starting point towards zero new infections and zero AIDS-related deaths.
UK Fast Track Cities include Glasgow, Brighton & Hove, London, Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol. National networks exist in Wales, Ireland and Scotland, the three of whom make up the Celtic Coalition (another avenue for inter-nation co-working). These cities and regions aim to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries focusing on local needs and finding new ways of cost-effectively challenging HIV.
Fast Track Cymru 