The final item of business today is a debate—a member's business debate—in the name of Annie Wells on World AIDS Day 2017. It's a debate that will be put without a question being put, it will be held without a question being put. Would any member who wishes to speak in the debate press their request-to-speak buttons now, and I call on Annie Wells to open the debate. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is with great pleasure that I get to open the debate today, only three days before the 29th annual World AIDS Day. Bringing much needed attention to how we remember the estimated 37 million people worldwide that have lost their lives to age-related illnesses, and how we in Scotland can beat the forefront of pharmaceutical care and can contribute to the global mission to eradicate new infections. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, and it is vitally important now, as it was nearly three decades ago. By wearing the red ribbon as a symbol of solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS, it provides us an opportunity to unite in the fight against HIV by fighting prejudice and improving education. Ultimately, it reminds both the public and us here in this chamber that HIV has not gone away. Arguably one of the most destructive pandemics in modern history. In 2016, 36.7 million people were living with HIV and AIDS, and it resulted in 1 million deaths in that year alone. There were 300,000 fewer new HIV cases in 2016 than in 2015, which gives confidence that worldwide strategies are indeed working. Over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK, and over 6,000 of that total live here in Scotland. One of the most concerning statistics is that two young people in this country are diagnosed with HIV every month. We are all aware that currently no cure or vaccine exists, however, science has come a long way since the 1980s, and that antiretroviral treatment has advanced to slow the course of the disease and can lead to a person diagnosed with disease living to near a normal life expectancy. I am extremely proud that on 10 April 2017, the Scottish Medicines Consortium announced that the drug Trivada was agreed an effective treatment to prevent the transmission of HIV, thus making Scotland the first country in the union to approve the prescription of a pre-exposure for prophylaxis on the NHS. We would not be able to declare such a status if it was not for the hard work of HIV Scotland, who spent years campaigning for pre-provision via the NHS as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy. In 2016, a prep-good practice guide was published by HIV Scotland as a result of collaboration of community members, service providers, researchers and decision makers, all coming together to learn and work in a multi-sector partnership. Although many new treatments and strategies will be needed to finally bring an end to the AIDS pandemic, one thing is for sure. We will not be able to stop the spread of the disease without bringing treatments to all of those who need it. Hence the focus in this motion today on Scotland attempting to exceed the United Nations AIDS 1990 goals. 90 per cent of all people loving with HIV will know their HIV status. 90 per cent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression. 1990 has been set to be achieved by 2020 and by United Nations AIDS' own admission. It is an ambitious target to completely end the AIDS pandemic by 2030. Although it is ambitious, it is certainly achievable if we build on the powerful momentum of this new narrative and HIV treatment. I believe that education is the most powerful resource that we have in our battle to reduce the risk of HIV infection in Scotland. UNESCO places access to sexual health education of the utmost importance. It is also its number one strategic priority. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 17 states that children have the right to information that is of vital importance to their health and wellbeing. Even though those international human rights organisations see sexual health education as a right of young people, sexual health lessons in Scotland are still not compulsory. Such lessons are taught via RSHP. However, teaching inconsistencies can be found throughout Scotland's 32 local authorities. Only on 22 October this year, I asked the education secretary what the Scottish Government's response was to the reported inconsistencies across Scotland's local authorities. The response that the curriculum for excellence provides flexibility for teachers to decide what children learn with an abroad framework is one that we all respect. However, we would welcome a consistent approach to RSHP education throughout local authorities. Scotland could also lead the way on significantly reducing HIV-related stigma via a reformed sexual health curriculum. Radical initiatives must be sought to reduce HIV-related stigma and to respect the human rights of populations who find themselves stigmatised in many ways already. According to Scotland's HIV anti-stigma strategy, the recent outbreak of HIV among injectable drug users in Glasgow was compounded by the multiple stigmas attached to HIV and drug use. Stigmatisation based on gender, sexual preference, race, culture and religion, class and poverty and criminalisation can be profound in lasting for people living with and affected by HIV. It is down to us to understand how and where people are experiencing stigma to properly legislate against it and to promote successful intervention strategies. Finally, bringing an end to the AIDS pandemic is more than an enduring commitment. We have to the 37 million people who lost their lives to this preventable disease. It also represents what an incredible opportunity we have to lay the foundations for a healthier, less stigmatised and more equal world for the young people of tomorrow. Thank you to my colleague Annie Wells for securing the debate and bringing such an important topic to the chamber. I apologise for having the wrong ribbon on it from the previous debate, but I have a red one in my office, which I will put on later. This debate is an opportunity to reflect on the estimated 35 million people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses and reflect on how we can support and care for the over 6,000 people living with HIV in Scotland. I would like to commend HIV Scotland for the excellent work that it does in raising awareness around HIV and promoting evidence-based policy changes to support those living with or those at risk of HIV. As Annie Wells mentioned, stigma is perhaps the biggest issue facing those living with HIV in Scotland. With many people left ostracised and with poor health and social outcomes such as mental ill health, anxiety and suicidal feelings, stigma is also one of the biggest barriers to testing, treatment and support. HIV Scotland estimates that around 13 per cent of people with HIV in Scotland are unaware of their HIV status, with a fear of a positive diagnosis discouraging individuals from getting tested and engaging with health services. There is a very important point that has been raised about stigma. The fear of testing is incredibly important in effect in cultural shift, where we would no longer look at HIV diagnosis as a death sentence as it once was, but rather as a manageable condition, which people now can expect to almost live full and relatively healthy lives with. I wholeheartedly agree with my colleague Tom Arthur's comments. It is important to note that we all have an HIV status. It is not something just for other people. The stigma and fear around testing can, of course, lead to an increase in late diagnosis, which will negatively impact on a person's quality of life and life expectancy. Concerningly, in HIV Scotland's recent report on HIV and education guaranteeing lessons for all, it highlighted that every month two young people in Scotland are diagnosed as being HIV positive. I believe that that was a matter that Annie Wells mentioned in her opening speech. I raised the issue in the chamber last month and was pleased that the Minister Eileen Campbell made clear that NHS boards will continue to work with schools and local authorities to deliver change and stage appropriate NHS education on the risks of HIV and that existing work will be built on as we move forward. Moving forward, we have to all continue to work hard to end HIV-related stigma through education in our schools and through Scotland's wider HIV anti-stigma strategy. We must continue to raise awareness around the fact that everyone has an HIV status and encourage people to get tested. We must continue to ensure that people living with HIV have access to the medical and emotional support that they need to lead fulfilling and healthy long lives. However, as we work to do that, there is also quite a bit to take pride in. We can take pride that we are a global leader in HIV policy by ensuring access to new medicines and treatments to treat HIV. We can take pride in becoming the first country in the UK to offer PrEP on the NHS. We can take pride that last year's new reported cases of HIV at 317 was the lowest annual figure recorded since 2003. We can take pride in Scotland's HIV anti-stigma strategy, Roadmap to Zero. Created by the HIV anti-stigma consortium, a unique document produced in collaboration with people living with and affected by HIV, academics, the NHS and the third sector, provides the foundations for Scotland's HIV anti-stigma strategy action plan that will be published in 2018. I look forward to seeing that strategy and, in the meantime, I encourage everyone, particularly us MSPs, to use whatever influence we have to tackle HIV-related stigma wherever we see it and wherever we can. I am pleased to be given the opportunity to talk in this debate today and to help colleagues across the chamber to highlight the need to end HIV-related stigma and to contribute to the zero new infections target that has been ambitiously set. For many people of my age, the first real knowledge of AIDS will have come from the apocalyptic and highly controversial advert that was aired on television in 1986. For those who do not remember the advert, it is probably worth looking at it. It has certainly got the message across that AIDS was potentially a lethal disease, but it has also frightened those who saw it into avoiding people with AIDS, and it took a huge amount of time to reverse this view. This was undoubtedly assisted by the work of people like Princess Diana. I am wittingly, in 1982-83, that I came into contact with AIDS sufferers when I went to Africa. As a young soldier, I was sent to Uganda to work with the Uganda National Liberation Army. Before flying out, I was given a very short briefing by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which I had to say did little to prepare me. I was, however, given a much more extensive briefing by the regimental doctor at Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Page. He spent a considerable amount of time teaching me basic medical skills, so that I could at least help my colleagues in difficult situations. My tour in Uganda was spent in the jungle, and unlike some, I could not claim to be a celebrity, and there was no way out.  This was supervised by a Ugandan medical officer who had every opportunity to dust off his one syringe and one needle. The needle was then sharpened before and after the injection on the inside of a glass. I have no idea what he was injecting in most cases, but he assured me that it would work. My task at the sick parade, however, was to help and treat using a medical pack that had been given to me by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—minor injuries—no gloves, no anesthetic, but with plenty of improvisations. The outcomes for our patients were without doubt better than if we had done nothing, and probably better than if they had experienced the trusty needle. They were also better than the outcomes that the local witch doctor achieved, but his was a bit more of a killer or a cure message. Sadly, sometimes our lack of knowledge showed, but we did our best. During my time that we were there, we saw a few cases of a disease called slim, and there seemed to be no positive outcomes for those who suffered this disease. It would affect husbands and wives, and often the youngest children, but not all the children. Those that did affect were more often than not, it affected with tragic consequences. Little did I know what we were seeing or trying to deal with was AIDS. If I had, I wonder if we would have looked on things in a different way. I suspect that we might have done. I also suspect that my colleagues and I would have dealt with things in a different way if we had seen the advert that was aired in 1986. That is the point that I would like to make. We had no worries about what we were doing to a lack of knowledge. Today we have knowledge, and we know that there is more that we can do for those who have AIDS and those who live with HIV. There is no need or, indeed, any excuse to stigmatise them. They are the same as you and me, and we must end all stigma relating to their conditions. On Friday, I will take a moment to remember the 35 odd million people who had died from AIDS-related illnesses and those that I might have unwittingly come into contact with. To me, they were and will always remain as fellow human beings who needed help, and that is what they should always remain and all they ever should have been. I thank Annie Wells for table and her motion, which provides members with the opportunity to mark World AIDS Day on 1 December through today's debate. The UN theme for this year's World AIDS Day is My Health, My Right. I want to use my brief comments today to highlight the right to proper health and social care for older people living with HIV. It is worth pausing for a moment to think about that statement of older people living with HIV. When many of us were growing up in the 80s and 90s and witnessing the emergence of AIDS, the letters HIV were seen very much as a death sentence and not something that you grew old with.  Those deaths are unnecessary, thanks to the wonders of science and the tireless campaign of charities across the world with early diagnosis and the right treatment. Those with HIV can and often do have near-normal life expectancy, as Tom Arthur highlighted earlier in his intervention. In fact, the median age of people living with HIV in Scotland rose from 36 in 1997 to 45 in 2015, and the proportion of people aged 50 are over increased from 1 in 8 in 2003 to 1 in 4 in 2014. Of course, that brings with it the challenges of ensuring that older people living with HIV have the health and social care that they need. Levels of poverty amongst people living with HIV aged 55 and over are double those seen in the general population, and they are significantly more likely to have other health problems. In fact, two-thirds of people over 50 with HIV receive treatment for other long-term conditions. Again, a rate almost double that of the general population. Mental health problems and depression are also more common among older people living with HIV than the population as a whole. Tackling those inequalities requires a meaningful action and a multi-agency approach within health and also crucially social care. We know that, across Scotland, social care services are under pressure. A report by HIV Scotland called Making the Vision a Reality highlighted concerns in some local authorities that funding and budget constraints, and I quote, may result in fewer people with support needs being able to receive support. In the report, one local authority stated, and again I quote, due to current budget constraints, not all people with HIV may meet the critical eligibility criteria that we can currently fund, therefore we may not be able to access social work-funded services. We need to properly resource social care, and we also have to ensure that staff are equipped with a strong understanding of HIV, because, as HIV Scotland's report also highlighted, and again I quote, there is a lack of specialist training for social care staff in relation to HIV and supporting people with this. The care must also be dignified, where there is no doubt that most care is of a high standard, a report by national aids trust called HIV, a guide for care providers highlighted experiences some people with HIV had in care homes and the discriminatory treatment that they received. One resident with HIV was made to have the last bath of the day and was given separate cutlery. Another described difficulty getting a staff member to assist them in the shower. Several highlighted breaches in confidentiality and, in one instance, a care assistant advisor resident's visitors not to let their children see him because of its HIV. Ruth Maguire, Annie Wells and Edward Mountain all commented on the stigma surrounding HIV, and in particular Scotland's anti-stigma strategy Roadmap to Zero. That stigma can not only be isolating and distressing, it can also act as a barrier to receiving the care and support people with HIV need. Presiding officer, when concluding, there remains a great deal more to be done to improve the provision and standard of social care for those living with HIV. The integration of health and social care will fundamentally change how care is delivered, and it is an opportunity to address some of those challenges. Taking a more collaborative approach to delivering care for those with HIV is in itself a step in the right direction, but we must ensure that we expand expertise and knowledge of HIV by those delivering that care. Equally structural changes through integration must be backed up with the funding needed to deliver services. Social care is an increasingly critical aspect of care for those with HIV, in particular older people living with HIV. That may be a good challenge to have and certainly not one that we faced 30 years ago, but it is also a growing challenge and we all have a duty to make sure that our health and social care services fully meet that challenge. I am pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this debate, and I am grateful that the motion has been brought to the chamber. Like a couple of other members, I was going to reflect a little on how things have changed over the years. I was growing up when those TV advertising campaigns that Edward Mountain referred to were being shown. I hadn't come out at that point. I hadn't, let's be honest, started my sex life at that point. That kind of set of ideas around fear, certain aspects of that campaign may have been well-meaning, but certain aspects also, I'm sure, exacerbated the fear and the stigma that arises as a result of fear. I was certainly very aware of that. A little later, as a student, something that I had caused to reflect on in an earlier debate this year, I was a student in Manchester at the time that God's Cop was raiding gay clubs in Manchester, sending police and wearing biohazard gear. Again, the kind of ignorant and prejudiced attitudes that informed that behaviour. Sadly, I was reminded of that when Colin Smith mentioned some of those practices a moment ago in care homes, again grounded in needless and ignorant attitudes towards HIV and the stigma that arises from that ignorance. I then, a few years later, had a few years working in an HIV agency in Glasgow and thinking about what has changed since those days, very clearly immense scientific and medical progress has been made. As others have mentioned, in particular treatment is dramatically more effective, many, many, many people living long and healthy lives, at least here in wealthy countries, that's the case, it's not the case everywhere. There's also immense progress being made on testing. Recently, in the run-up to World AIDS, they dropped into the THT offices in Glasgow. The agency I used to work for, Face West, then Face Scotland, eventually merged and became THT Scotland after I'd left. I was able to catch up with a few old colleagues there and took a test, which was just a tiny little finger prick and it took literally seconds for the result to be clear. Again, that cheap, convenient and easy form of testing was not available when I was working in the field. As others have mentioned, not only treatment, not only testing but prevention. We have new tools in the box when it comes to prevention with the availability of PrEP in Scotland and I very much welcome the progress that has been made there. There are some things that I hope have changed, that I don't know have changed, but I hope. One of the last things that I was involved in challenging when I was working for Face at the time was the promotion of anti-condom messages being pushed in schools by an organisation promoting the building's ovulation method of birth control, basically one step up from the rhythm method, a complete nonsense to be pushing in schools, but whether motivated by their religious ethos or anything else, they were also pushing the kind of disinformation that's been pushed in some developing countries, telling young people that condoms have holes in them that will let HIV through, essentially telling people not to use condoms as a means of protecting themselves against HIV transmission. I really hope that there is no such information being pedalled or misinformation being pedalled in our schools today, but there are still those who argue against the comprehensive equality-based sex education that all young people should have access to and the Government must show determination to ensure that that's a reality. Of course, there are some things that haven't changed. The stigma, the prejudice and the misunderstanding still persist and we all need to take a responsibility to challenge that. Partly as a result of that on-going stigma, there are aspects of the law that haven't changed, the criminalisation of sex work of drug use and even of transmission, which directly harms people's lives. The economic injustices in drug access globally haven't changed enough. It would be wrong to say that there's been no change, wrong to say that there's no progress, but when we look at the target that's been talked about for access to treatment, the target for 90 per cent of people living with HIV to know their status, 90 per cent of people with diagnosed infection to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90 per cent of all people receiving that therapy to have viral suppression. That 1990-90 target, we're still a long way off achieving that globally. I'm told we're at 70, 77, 82. So in each one of those three, progress has been made with the availability or the greater availability of generic drugs but not nearly enough progress. And some things finally that have changed for the worst, Presiding Officer. Colin Smyth mentioned the economic insecurity that a great many people live with, whether that's in relation to social security, whether it's in relation to insecure work or whether it's in relation to the impact that austerity has had on the public services that people living with HIV need to have access to or the inhumanity of our immigration and asylum system. Those things have changed for the worse. And as one example, just in closing, Presiding Officer, the loss of a needle exchange service in Glasgow, for example, is almost inevitably going to lead to an increase in infections. And I would agree with those including Alison Thewlis from the SNP, who is quoted today saying that evidence from safe injecting facilities in other countries demonstrates the reduced levels of drug addiction as well as improving public safety through reducing the level of discarded needles and other related items. I hope that the Scottish Government agrees with that comment from Alison Thewlis and will be committed to ensuring safe injecting facilities everywhere that they are needed. I would say that the stigma that exists in relation to HIV harms individual lives but it also harms our collective ability to make political progress on those controversial and difficult subjects, whether in relation to drug use, sex work or any of the other areas where we haven't seen movement in the right direction. Thank you once again for the chance to take part. I call on Claire Adamson. Thank you, Presiding Officer, for letting me say a few words this evening and also to my colleague Annie Wells for bringing this debate to the chamber today. I would also like to welcome to the gallery members of the consortium who HIV Scotland brought together to work on the strategy that will be launched this week, which is the road map to zero, which is about ending stigma for people living and affected by AIDS. It's been a really wonderful debate to listen to this evening. I've talked about AIDS and the challenges in different communities around the world and the reason for AIDS being there in different communities and recognising that it is a disease that is universal to us and that so much progress has been made in identifying, in treatment, in testing, in all those areas. We have certainly come a long, long way from when I first knew about it as a young teenager, much like Patrick Harvie. I want to talk about how thankful I am about the content of the road map to zero. It is about stigma and HIV, but it is a document that teaches about stigma in any areas about some of the anti-gay feelings, anti-religious feelings and all the feelings that can come in to stigmatising people about certain areas. It really challenges those attitudes and challenges our belief systems about what we do. That is such a powerful document. I really thank the consortium for building it in that area. The five areas that ask us to challenge ourselves as individuals with their own feelings and knowledge are challenging us all to become educated about areas where there might be stigma. Our interpersonal relationships are challenging family and friends and partners in some of their attitudes. Organisationally, in our workplaces and in our social institutions, anywhere that we see that stigma being applied to people living with AIDS, we can challenge it in our communities. Our community and cultural values in each community will have its own experience of AIDS, for some it will be a sexual health issue, for others it will have been from drugs issues. We have to recognise those and understand those before we can truly tackle and reduce infections but also reduce that stigma to zero. Of course, our structural, our national laws and our public policy have to reflect that that anti-stigma message has to be at the heart of what we are doing. I want to finish by mentioning what the partners have all committed to do, the five things that I think are so important. They want to end HIV-related stigma in Scotland. They want to participate fully in designing, implementing and monitoring programmes to reduce stigma. They want to work collaboratively with other partners to introduce necessary policy changes. They want to strengthen meaningful involvement of people living with and affected by HIV and they want to hold each other accountable for progress towards zero stigma goals. Those five asks are so powerful, so important. I wish the consortium all the best moving forward. I should also mention the funding from MAC AIDS that made all this report possible. It is a very powerful document and something that I think we should all be reading and taking on board in our jobs as politicians. I ask the minister, Eileen Campbell, to respond to the debate. I thank Annie Wells for securing the debate and all those members who took part for their speeches. That is a welcome opportunity to consider how far we have come in tackling HIV ahead of World AIDS Day on Friday. World AIDS Day, as others have noted, provides an opportunity to show our support for the millions of people living with HIV worldwide and to remember those who have died over the past years since the virus emerged. Over the past 30 years or so, huge scientific advances have been made in relation to the treatment of HIV, but while we have come a long way, new HIV infections are still being diagnosed in Scotland every week. Despite all the progress that we have made, some of those are still at risk and still do not know how to protect themselves. Some too many hold outdated views about the fact of HIV leading to that needless stigmatisation that many have talked about this evening, so we must make sure that we continue to raise awareness. The theme of World AIDS Day this year is let's end it. We must work together to end isolation, to end stigma and to end HIV transmission. Sadly, however, stigma remains a problem for many people living with HIV and for some people that means that they live in fear of their HIV status being revealed to those they live, work and spend time with. It is vital that we take an evidence-based approach to addressing stigma. We need to take account what has worked in the past and what has not here or elsewhere in the world. I believe that a significant part of tackling stigma is providing everyone with the facts about HIV Government, third sector organisations, practitioners and infected. Those infected with HIV need to continue to collaborate in our efforts to tackle that problem. Annie Wells in her remarks mentioned the importance of education and raised the issue around consistency of RSHP. I reiterate the words of Ruth Maguire in the interest that Ruth Maguire continues to take because we are making sure that we develop that consistency that Annie Wells was asking of us. NHS boards are working with local authorities and other partners to support the delivery of high quality, consistent and inclusive RSHP education in schools across Scotland. Boards are also currently working with authorities to produce a national RSHP resource to support effective teaching. That new resource will cover a range of issues, including consent, healthy relationships and the impact of digital technology. It will also be fully inclusive of LGBTI issues, all based on facts and certainly not on myths. Patrick Harvie is right to articulate that we need to guard against. It is also important to ensure that there is good quality education available to professionals. For example, I am glad that the Scottish Government has supported successful training initiatives such as the caring conversation training resource developed by Waverly Care. The resource encourages NHS staff to think about how they interact with patients promoting honest and caring conversations. It focuses on HIV and uses case studies from HIV patients themselves, but the learning is also relevant to people working with patients living with any long-term condition. To reiterate the point that Colin Smyth was making, we need to recognise the opportunity that we have through integration to ensure that that type of support is also available to those in caring roles, to ensure that we empower them to enable them to have that education and to help to enhance their ability to deliver care. It is also important to sort that from fiction when it comes to HIV, and it is important that we can empathise with those affected. It is also vital that we hear directly what it is like for people living with HIV, and I would like to thank every person in Scotland living with HIV who has spoken about their experiences, whether to one friend over a cup of tea or on stage in front of hundreds. All of that work is valued and appreciative and helps on our journey towards tackling that stigma and enhancing the education offer across the country. HIV prevention remains key to our sexual health and bloodborne virus framework, with a highly effective treatment now in place and with pre-exposure prophylaxis or PREP, now available on the NHS in Scotland. We are already having some of the tools that we need to reduce new infections within Scotland to zero. A significant challenge, however, is to get to the people who are infected but undiagnosed to ensure that they are tested and that they are treated. Our framework is clear that normalising and expanding testing is key, and we are working with NHS colleagues to do this. It is also important to remember, though, that some of those affected most by HIV are also marginalised in other ways, such as those who inject drugs. When a person has a serious addiction, they may not be able to take the steps to protect themselves for infection, and that is why we need to ensure that support is in place to address the underlying addiction and to reduce the harm that that addiction poses. Although I was going to come to the issues around needle exchange later on, although challenges remain, it is encouraging to see the significant decline in new infections in 2016 in Scotland. Like Ruth Maguire, I take pride that Scotland was the first part of the UK to make PrEP available to eligible patients. Again, we pay tribute to the third sector at HIV Scotland. We've looked here and a whole host for setting the tone and allowing that to be viewed as an appropriate public health intervention to prevent illness. Based on evidence, it was a good response and a good reaction, and it was the work that it did to help to enable that discussion to take place. I know that, for many people in Scotland, PrEP is making a huge difference to their lives. The medical advances in stark contrast to the way that Edward Mountain described, coped with as best they could during his time in Africa. To go on to the issue around the needle exchanges, I wanted to make sure that I had an opportunity to talk about that. Patrick Harvie is absolutely right to raise the issue of needle exchange, because that situation poses a significant public health risk. I want to assure him that work is still on-going with Network Rail and others, including Humza Yousaf, to achieve a satisfactory solution. I reiterate that I will keep him updated as that work progresses. I am grateful to the minister for addressing that. I look forward to hearing progress on that. I appreciate that there are difficulties when there is a third organisation like Network Rail involved. Is the Government committed to the principle of ensuring not only needle exchange, but, as the minister's colleague Alison Thullus has acknowledged, the potential for safe injecting facilities as well, which could make a huge amount of difference and the evidence for that around the world is extremely strong? I was going to come on to that point as well, but, in terms of needle exchange, again, like PREP and the whole approach that we want to take through public health, if it is based on evidence, we need to make sure that those things are enabled. I think that the situation with Network Rail shows that interface with those who do not normally have their world and how we need to enable those discussions to be far more open and to ensure that progress can be made. I will keep him updated on the issue around needle exchange. On the safe injection rooms, I outlined our refreshed approach to the drug strategy earlier this afternoon. We would continue to work with Glasgow Health and Social Care partnership on that, because Patrick Harvie made his right to meet the public health case and continues to be made. The Lord Advocate has provided his advice, which is welcome, but it is clear that we do not at the moment have the legislative powers. That is why I have written to the UK Government to meet to discuss the scope to get those powers to Scotland to help us to move that issue forward. On that issue, again, we will continue to keep him engaged, because that should not be the last word on this matter because of the public health concerns that he is right to outline. In conclusion, I am clear that those who are affected by HIV in Scotland should have the same level of protection from discrimination and prejudice as everyone else. In line with the world's AIDS Day theme, our sexual health and bloodborne virus framework has reductions in stigma as one of its five high-level outcomes. We want to live in communities that have positive, non-stigmatising and supportive attitudes towards people affected by HIV. World AIDS Day helps us to communicate the aspiration to so-to do debates like this in our Parliament. On Friday, I hope that we can all take the opportunity to remember the impact that HIV has had on lives in Scotland and globally to reflect on the progress that is made in treating the infection and consider what we can do to reduce new infections even further and better support those living with HIV. We should also reflect that, last year, when we had the debate, PrEP was not available. That was the call, so it shows you how fast things can progress in this if we work together, collaborate and put our minds to making the improvements that we all seek. I thank Annie Wells and the others who have contributed and look forward to continuing that work with them as we make the improvements that we want to see for those with HIV in Scotland.


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They are all being seen with each other That's why I went ahead and made I pre-made a layout So when you see that black line work, yeah, I just anytime I want to make a new character I just bring my line work sheet that I created and then I just create the new details inside of that I just thought I should add that if anybody was curious and Wanted to know dang. How did he keep all these characters the same size another thing too, man If you want to learn more about my project, you want to learn more about NFTs the blockchain All you got to do is join us on clubhouse as well. We go live on clubhouse every day 730 p.m. Man So if you just been hearing about NFTs, but you still don't know what it is and you trying to figure out What is it exactly and how it worked man? You know my whole career been based on teaching you guys everything. I know like for years I've been making how-to videos trying to help other artists learn what's the latest Technology or what's hip or what's going on? So Anybody who want to learn want to talk to me personally want to talk to my team. I got a group of guys I'm working with that's very knowledgeable about about the blockchain the metaverse Crypto they got a lot of knowledge on the space and they're very cool Cool guys man. They'll answer any questions the questions. I can't answer. I know they have the answers too So yeah, just join us on clubhouse man at she world one two three four That's on every platform like every social media. It's easy to find That's why I made my name the same on every platform, but Other than that man with this project man, what I want to do is after I sell all my NFTs I want to really try to give back to the collectors We want to bring a lot of value to the collectors to the holders Eventually create passive income for the people who's collected my NFTs and do a lot of giveaways as well for artists and Always share information with you guys So we're planning on doing a lot of great things with this NFT collection It won't be like now other NFT collection. I promise you that We're gonna be the biggest and we're gonna do it the right way. You know I'm saying so Even if you don't wind up purchasing one of my NFTs I still would like for all my true supporters to be a part of what I got going if you still want to be a Part of what I got going just join my discord man Fishbowl head club man. We love to hang out in there. It's a great community man Very positive. It's a lot of talent in there as well So and I chill in there all the time So if you just trying to be one man hang out see what what's the latest or what we got playing and things like that Go ahead and join us on discord too. I'm very excited about this project man I can't even explain what we plan on working on a video game for as well Man, it's so much we got in store for this project and it's like the community on building It's like the people that's joining into this collection. Not only are They are invested into it. They're they're giving their ideas man And we putting our thoughts together and I think it's gonna turn out being something bigger than what I imagine I've been working on I've been working on this project for For a good a good year man trying to figure out the space trying to learn the space Probably a year and a half been trying to learn the space figure it out a lot of trial and error and I finally Got to a point where I was like man I got to figure out what I want to draw because when you are artists and you can draw anything It's hard to it's hard to stick to one thing to do So I was just going back and forth to the drawing board Trying to figure out man What am I going to make my collection and then I start looking around in my house? And I start noticing everything that I hang up on my wall has something to do with a glass a glass helmet You know I'm saying I always draw different people inside of glass helmets, and then I start thinking man That's my thing. You know I'm saying so This project Distributes me, you know I'm saying because it's something I love to draw I love to draw people in glass bowls, and that's why I came up with the collection fish bowl here You know I'm saying and then I start thinking now You know what and since I'm I plan on building a community And I plan on making a lot of money to help a lot of people because what I'm going to do I'm going to use that money to Invest that money to give back to my holders So eventually they can have so much value and in return guess what I get they give me a Household name as an artist because as an artist you always got to figure out new ways to bring value To the people that's investing in your work because if you bring people real value They'll make your name have value and now your art will be worth millions. That's how I see it