Fast Track Newport

A global promise.
Fast Track Newport is part of a national initiative called Fast Track Cymru which finds its
origins from a global initiative called Fast Track Cities.

Fast Track arrived in Wales.
Fast Track Cities reached Wales in 2019 as Fast Track Cardiff and Vale and quickly became one of the most prominent Fast Track Cities in the UK due to the dedication and hard work of it’s members. After getting recognition from the Welsh Government in the form of funding, Fast Track Cymru was born and began recruiting other Welsh cities to it’s cause.
Newport and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board were proud to become the second Welsh
city to join Fast Track Cymru and signed The Paris Declaration on November 20th 2023 showing
their commitment to ending HIV transmissions by 2030.

Deciding to be a Fast Track City is not the conclusion of the story though, and through this
decision the true work begins. Coming together from different sectors including health,
government and the voluntary sector, allows for collaborative working and shared expertise
resulting in the most effective project that is possible.

Part of a city’s commitment in signing the Paris Declaration is declaring three priorities that
will guide their planning and actions when trying to reach the goal of zero transmissions by 2030.
There are many elements to attaining this goal whether it’s ensuring the population is testing or
de-stigmatising HIV as a disease as only two examples. When a city begins their journey, they
must assess what the priorities for their city are; in the case of Newport, it was decided that
testing, stigma, and underserved population should be their focus.

Priorities.
There are many facets to testing and the underlying reasons why people do not want to
test, but Fast Track Newport wishes to work at understanding these reasons and helping to
resolve the barriers that prevent people from testing. This may accessing healthcare and knowing
where to test, or even understanding why testing regular is useful and healthy. Ensuring
individuals know their HIV status means they can be guided to the appropriate treatment and will
help prevent late diagnosis, which continues to be largest determining factor of HIV’s progression
into AIDS.

Stigma is an integral consideration for reaching zero as components of this issue are
dictated by false knowledge and discrimination. Understanding the stigma that permeates the
culture of Newport and Gwent will allow Fast Track Newport to tackle the issues and direct the
relevant resources.

Underserved population comes as a unique priority to Fast Track Newport as they
identified the many diverse individuals that live in Newport and Gwent. They feel the many
individuals that get missed with mainstream knowledge should be better understood and
therefore given better and easier access to services