Co-leaders of the Green Party at the presentation of their manifesto. Photo: Nicola Tree/Getty Images Europe .uk/bc72b371-0215-4d99-b27b-4223678de837.html?direct=true&id=bc72b371-0215-4d99-b27b-4223678de837&template=articleRendererHTML' class='tmg-particle Sticky-nav wrp-bc72b371-02 15-4d99-b27b- 4223678de837' title='General Election' data-business-type='editorial' loading='eager' scroll='no'frameborder='0'allow='web-share' style='width: 100%; min-width: 100%; border: none; position: relative; display: block; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;'>
The Green Party was forced to pull its manifesto due to a backlash over its depiction of people with HIV.
Easy to read version In the left's election promises environmental activists placed a photo of a clearly bad man coughing next to a promise to end HIV transmission by 2030.
The image caused an uproar online for being misleading and was later replaced by an image of a man's hand holding a white pill.
The image of the coughing man in the Green Party manifesto was later replaced by
Luke Robert Black, LGBT Chair+ The Conservatives said: “It is a shame to see the Green Party possibly implying that HIV is airborne, that HIV+ people are contagious or sick.
“As long as you are on effective treatment, you cannot transmit HIV. Your viral load drops to undetectable levels and HIV+ people are living healthy lives.”
The Greens' manifesto promises to “work to end HIV transmission by 2030” in line with the government's 2019 pledge to end HIV transmission by then.
>< p>The manifesto says the party will do this using “a collaborative approach using proven action, including access to HIV prevention pills online, in pharmacies and in GP services.”
“We will restart successful opt-out programs from HIV testing in emergency departments in all areas with high HIV prevalence,” it adds.
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is transmitted through bodily fluids. People who receive effective treatment can live healthy lives and avoid spreading the virus to others.
The Conservative Party reaffirmed their commitment to the 2030 target in their manifesto and said they could also “expand HIV testing in emergency departments in England.”< /p>
The Labor Party said it would develop a new HIV Action Plan for England “aiming to end HIV cases by 2030”.
The Liberal Democrats did not include an HIV pledge in their manifesto, despite the party previously saying it also supported ending HIV transmission in England by 2030. A Green Party spokesperson said: “We were warned shortly after publication that the image we used in our easy-to-read manifesto could be misinterpreted.”
“For clarity, we have temporarily removed the manifesto to replace this image with a more appropriate image that better communicates our policy of preventing HIV transmission by 2030.”
Zac Polanski, deputy leader of the Green Party, told The Telegraph: “ I was warned about this. I asked to change it and it was changed almost immediately.
“So I rated the review and it was a mistake.”
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