The SNP leader joined two other party leaders in signing a letter that rebuts HIV treatment figures quoted by the UKIP leader during the leaders’ debate.
The leaders of the SNP, the Green party, and Plaid Cymru have signed an open letter disputing claims made by Nigel Farage about HIV-positive immigrants.
Leanne Wood, Nicola Sturgeon, and Natalie Bennett, all of whom signed the open letter.
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Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, the Greens' Natalie Bennett, and Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood joined other public figures in signing a letter rebutting figures stated by the UKIP leader during the televised leaders' debate on 26 March.
The letter, organised by ACT UP London, an HIV activist group, aims to challenge Farage's claims that HIV-positive immigrants come to Britain for free treatment at huge expense to the NHS.
Other prominent politicians who have signed the letter include the Greens' Caroline Lucas and Willie Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Hundreds of party activists and parliamentary candidates have also signed, along with religious leaders, doctors, and representatives from HIV charities, HIV clinics, royal colleges, and NHS trusts.
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett and Paul Childs, the two Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates who revealed to BuzzFeed News that they are HIV positive, are also signatories.
Nigel Farage during the leaders' debate on 26 March.
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We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned at the recent attempts made by Nigel Farage to spread misinformation about HIV for political ends. We call for the rights of people living with HIV to be respected and upheld, and for HIV treatment to be left out of the political fray. We call for Mr Farage to apologise for his factually inaccurate, and stigmatising, comments.
During the leaders' TV debate on 2nd April, Mr Farage claimed: "Here's a fact…there are 7,000 diagnoses in this country every year for people that are HIV positive… 60% of them are not British nationals." He further stated treatment costs up to £25,000 per year per patient.
Mr Farage is entitled to his own opinions, but he is not entitled to his own facts. Each claim is false. Public Health England's most recent figures show there were 6,000 people newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK in 2013, a decrease on the 6,250 diagnoses in 2012. The '7,000' figure was last true in 2008, since then the number has been steadily declining.
The same figures show that 45% of people diagnosed with HIV in 2013 were born outside the UK, but the data does not tell us about the nationality of people diagnosed. It records only country of birth – being born outside the UK does not mean you are not a British national. The average cost of treatment per patient per year is approximately £6,000.