Last week the Terrence Higgins Trust marked its 25th anniversary with a Downing Street reception. Gordon Brown used the occasion to become the first prime minister in 15 years to talk about the severity of HIV rates in Britain.

When Terrence Higgins died in 1982 he was one of the first people in the country to fall victim to AIDS. Another 17,000 in the UK have followed, while 73,000 live with HIV. Each year around 50,000 people use Terrence Higgins Trust services.

The progress on HIV and AIDS is in many ways a success story. It is now a long-term condition rather than a death sentence, understanding among healthcare professionals and the wider public has grown enormously, and services provided by the NHS and the voluntary sector have flourished.

But there is still no cure, and prejudice remains - some in the NHS (for more background, click here).

Research in London unveiled last week revealed that one in seven people with HIV claimed to have faced discrimination from healthcare workers, including GPs and accident and emergency staff.

And the challenge of getting young people to understand that HIV is an issue for everyone is growing, not diminishing. As one Downing Street guest put it: 'Straight people think it's an issue for gay people, and young gay men thinks it's only a problem for old gay men.'

So there is unfinished business for the NHS. The government and the health service must ensure HIV is a prominent part of its public health strategy.

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