New government funding for Chiva – the children and young adult’s HIV organisation – has been secured to provide mothers living with HIV/birthing parents who choose to formula feed with formula milk and sterilisation equipment to feed their babies.
This means specialist HIV nutrition charity The Food Chain has reopened the service to pregnant women and new mothers who need it. This is thanks to the leadership of public health minister Sharon Hodgson, and her predecessor Ashley Dalton.
For the first time in the epidemic, the government committed to paying for the formula milk and equipment on World AIDS Day 2025 (1 December) as outlined in its HIV Action Plan to end new HIV cases in the UK by 2030. Since then, the number of infants being supported by the charity has risen from 30 in April 2025 to 80 this July – when a waiting list was opened due to the uncertainty of funding.
Formula milk and sterilisation equipment cost over £900 for a year's provision per infant and requires a small and dedicated team to deliver a non-stigmatised service. With this short term funding and the promise of long-term contract ready by the new year, the future of this vital service is secured.
The British HIV Association recommends that feeding a baby with formula milk is the best way of parents living with HIV avoiding all risk of HIV transmission to their baby. With support from their HIV clinic, parents who have an undetectable viral load and meet the other criteria of the safe triangle can exclusively breastfeed/chestfeed until their baby is six months. However, breastfeeding is not always possible for a variety of reasons and is also not recommended after six months when babies start weaning onto solid foods.
For many years The Food Chain’s formula milk service was paid for from the charity’s own funds, alongside the support of Chiva. This work has been key to stopping babies acquiring HIV.
The UK's leading HIV charity, Terrence Higgins Trust, stepped in when The Food Chain experienced financial hardship in May the year. This included providing the money to pay for the cost of formula milk for the babies already on the programme and born before 1 July 2026.
One of the mothers who is supported by The Food Chain said: 'When the first milk delivery arrived, me and my partner took a picture of the delivery and cried. We couldn't believe that we had enough milk for our baby, and we no longer had to worry about how we were going to feed them. My boy is now thriving, and this is all because of the formula milk that was provided. I couldn't really quantify the impact that this service has had, and I keep thinking about of us crying over the delivery, it has had a massive impact on us.'
Anna Brewster, Chief Executive of The Food Chain, said: 'Our formula milk service is life-changing for the families we work with and we’re thrilled this new government funding secures its future. The money means we can continue to support families, while also accepting more onto the programme and scrapping the need for a waiting list.'
Amanda Ely, Chief Executive of Chiva, said: 'We are delighted that the government has committed their support and are now funding the provision of formula milk for infants of mothers living with HIV. Including infants and children in HIV prevention strategies is something Chiva has been campaigning for and with this funding, working with The Food Chain, we can ensure that access to formula milk is assured for all who need it to prevent any risk of HIV transmission to infants. This is a great success and we are hugely appreciative of the efforts of all who helped make this happen.'
Richard Angell OBE, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: 'No one can doubt the importance of providing women living with HIV with formula and equipment necessary to feed their babies. Which is why we stepped in to keep this vital service running while waiting for government funding. Having fought for the commitment in the HIV Action Plan launched last December, today I’m thrilled. Its future is in hand thanks to the government and in particular the public health minister Sharon Hodgson MP, and her predecessor Ashley Dalton MP. By expediting its plans to make sure there is no gap in provision and honouring their commitment in the HIV action plan the government has taken another step towards ending new HIV cases in the UK by 2030.'
