Financial woes force closure of London HIV/AIDS agency

by Tony Leonard

One of London’s largest HIV/AIDS service organizations will be closing Wednesday because it has not been able to maintain its financial support.

For 15 years, Body Positive (BP), which described itself as "The Future Of HIV Services," provided support, treatment information and therapies, counseling and training. It served as a model for other HIV/AIDS organizations nationally.

"This was a tough and very sad decision to make," said Martin Skipworth, Body Positive’s chair of trustees, especially at a time when demand for services is increasing. "Although our closest funders had agreed to continue their support for BP, it was simply not at the level we need to continue operating. It’s a crushing blow to the staff and volunteers — but especially hard for service users."

The 15-year-old charity started experiencing financial difficulties last year when a number of grants failed to materialize or were lower than anticipated. Even after an emergency fund-raising appeal and program cutbacks, BP still had a £120,000 ($179,000 U.S.) deficit at the start of the year.

The Department of Health is funding the organization’s closure and Body Positive is currently in discussions with the Terrence Higgins Trust and the London Lighthouse to ensure that services such as its Skills For Success program, Gay Men’s Group and treatment library continue.

Ironically, the closure comes at a time of increased demand for Body Positive’s services, which contributed to the financial pressure. Major developments in treatment have resulted in government funds earmarked for HIV/AIDS being diverted away from services and into meeting the high costs of combination therapy. At the same time, the huge drop in the death rate as a result of better treatment has made private fundraising increasingly difficult as the sense of urgency around the issue has faded.

These pressures are not peculiar to Body Positive and many in the field have predicted a large number of closures and mergers over the coming months. "HIV fundraising is becoming more and more difficult and government grants are being reduced year on year," said Leigh Gallagher, Head of Marketing at Body Positive. "The future is looking very sketchy for everyone."