HTB news: i-Base changes during 2024
1 November 2024. Related: Editorial, Special reports.
Dear readers and supporters
This update includes information about changes to i-Base services this year.
Changes at i-Base
From September 2024, i-Base restructured to run on a reduced budget.
This means we can maintain the core services that are still widely used and supported. i-Base will become a leaner organisation with reduced running costs.
In practice, this meant giving up the i-Base office in August and working virtually.
It also involves losing many paid staff positions by moving to volunteer-based services.
Unless supported by new funding, it also involves only online publishing, without print versions.
HIV Treatment Bulletin (HTB)
HTB has moved to a news feed rather than also being compiled in a monthly publication.
Reports have still been posted online throughout the year and are also still organised by month.
Nov Oct Sept Aug July June May April March Feb Jan
The change to a news feed option is largely due to funding. After many years of support, the only specific grant for producing HTB came to an end in December 2023.
We also decided to focus on reports that are unlikely to be covered by other organisations in order to focus on specific coverage that is more likely to be unique.
Printed resources: please order while stocks last
i-Base still provides free booklets and leaflets to UK clinics, even though this has never been directly funded. Instead we fund most print and distribution costs from unrestricted funding, which has become more difficult.
Giving up the i-Base office will also make it difficult to continue to supply printed resources, unless this is funded with a new grant.
Over almost 25 years, i-Base distributed more than a million free leaflets and booklets to NHS clinics across the UK. Without funding, this is one of the services that will close. Information will continue to be available online, as it always has.
In practice, some clinics no longer display community resources, or they signpost to information online. But many other clinics continue to want print resources. Many people use their services who have limited access to online information or don’t find this an easy way to get information.
i-Base is trying to link with other organisations to perhaps share costs for running a postal distribution service, but so far this has not been successful.
- Please order any resources now using this link as publications will be much more limited after August.
Continued services: i-Base website
- The i-Base website gets approximately 400,000 hits every month.
- It has roughly 5,000,000 hits every year.
People access the website from more than 140 countries and territories.
Our new budget will enable the website to continue to run, including adding new content and reviewing and updating older pages.
All publications will continue to be available online.
All treatment guides will continue to be updated online.
Continued services: Q&A services
i-Base routinely receives more than 7000 questions every year by email and online.
We reply individually within about two working days.
This international service has been running for more than 15 years and is one of the projects that is supported by grants from both Gilead and ViiV.
These direct services to people living with HIV will continue as one of the core future projects.
i-Base phoneline
After running for more than 22 years, the i-Base treatment phoneline will close at the end of August when we move to a virtual office.
For the last few years, the vast majority of requests have moved to email and web-based questions. In complex cases, i-Base will still provide phoneline support but this will be arranged on an individual basis.
We still recognise that some people prefer to talk rather than email.
UK Community Advisory Board (UK-CAB)
From 1 September 2024, administrative support for the UK-CAB will be run by Positively UK. This change was also driven by the overall financial pressure on i-Base.
i-Base continues to work with the UK-CAB, which we founded in 2002, but which is led by an steering group elected by the members. The need to develop a broad, open, and inclusive network of HIV advocates across the UK is still just as important and essential.
The CAB will continue to be led by a steering group elected by the membership. This format should continue with Positive UK.
This will be an exciting time for the UK-CAB.
We thank Positively UK for taking on this new role, and wish the UK-CAB every success in the future.
Future services
i-Base is committed to continuing services for at least the next two years. Our bigger plan is to continue until 2030 as part of national and international goals.
During this time we will update and develop all key projects.
This includes continuing to update all non-technical treatment guides and leaflets. Without funding to support print publications these are difficult to continue in print format.
This problem is important because UK clinics continue to use print versions to support a significant minority of people who have limited internet access and who do not have smart phones.
Others just prefer to have something printed that they can easily re-read and keep for future reference.
We hope that future funding will enable us to sustain a programme of services until 2030 – in line with national and global health targets.
We thank all existing support from readers, advisers, contributors and funders and welcome future support and collaborations over the coming years.
For further details, including proposed collaborations or interest in supporting our work, please email simon.collins@i-base.org.uk.
Current funding and your help and support
Several i-Base projects are supported by grants from Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare. This support has helped i-Base run the treatment information services both UK and internationally.
However, we also need to match this funding by independent support. Without this we are limited in the funding we can accept from industry. Of note, none of the i-Base publications are sponsored by drug companies.
Instead, i-Base run’s an annual appeal asking for support for i-Base with a regular monthly or one-off donation from individual supporters.
This is an especially difficult times and all help is appreciated.