AQW 49512/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 24/06/2026
Answered On Date: 16/07/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps his Department has taken to promote positive sexual health, in the last two years.

Answer:

The Department of Health’s Sexual Health Action Plan 2023–2026 recognises that improving sexual health outcomes in Northern Ireland is not solely about reducing illness, but also about promoting a positive, inclusive and stigmafree understanding of sexual wellbeing.

A key element of the Action Plan is the use of public health campaigns and engagement initiatives to encourage open, informed conversations about sex and relationships. Since the launch of the Action Plan in 2023, an overarching communications group comprising representatives from the Department, PHA, HSC Trusts, and the community and voluntary sector have worked together to support several multichannel public health campaigns aimed at promoting positive sexual health. These focus on key dates in the Sexual Health calendar: Sexual Health Week, Pride, World Contraception Day and World Aids Day. The group has also engaged with community pharmacies across Northern Ireland through the Living Well Campaign, to ensure the provision of accessible and positive sexual health advice to all.

To promote the availability of fact-based sexual health information, the Public Health Agency have extensively redesigned the Sexual Health NI website, providing a central, reliable source of up-to-date information for the public, informed by engagement with statutory, voluntary and community partners.

Funding provided by my department, both directly and through the Public Health Agency, continues to support the community and voluntary sector in the delivery of positive sexual health messaging to key groups within Northern Ireland, including young people, the LGBTQIA+ community and those living with HIV.