World AIDS Day (1 December) – Charity says rising HIV ignorance and entrenched stigma and shame are jeopardising efforts to eliminate HIV in NI
On World AIDS Day, Northern Ireland’s only dedicated HIV charity, Positive Life, is warning that falling public awareness is holding back efforts to eliminate new HIV transmissions by 2030.
The latest statistics from the Department of Health show that there were 101 new diagnoses of HIV here last year and there are 1,439 people living with HIV.
Worryingly, recent survey data shows awareness in Northern Ireland is dropping significantly, particularly among younger people. According to the Department of Health’s Health Survey, almost a fifth of 16- to 34-year-olds haven’t heard of HIV. Despite significant advances in treatment and prevention over the last 40 years, fewer than one in three people know that someone on effective medication cannot pass the virus on.
Positive Life says deep-seated prejudice, shame and stigma around HIV and sexual health prevents people in Northern Ireland from accessing testing and healthcare support for the life-long health condition.
Jacquie Richardson, Chief Executive of Positive Life NI, said,
“Awareness is going backwards at the very time when accurate information is most needed. Right now, a growing number of people do not have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health. In this widening information vacuum, it’s deeply worrying when we hear young people saying they would simply get an antibiotic and treat HIV like any other sexually transmitted infection. We need to keep HIV on the radar: it’s an extremely serious virus, it requires life-long management and, left untreated, it can be life-threatening.”
The charity is keen to promote awareness of vital information which lies at the heart of the stigma attached to HIV, and is based upon outdated views around contracting and passing it on. Modern treatment reduces the virus to such a low level in the blood that it cannot be detected and therefore cannot be transmitted. People living with HIV, and on effective treatment, live long and fulfilling lives and pose no risk of onward transmission.
Positive Life is also challenging the outdated stereotype that HIV is a “gay man’s disease”. In fact the fastest growing demographic is among heterosexual people, particularly women in middle age, who no longer use contraception as birth control, but forget about the importance of protecting themselves from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
While Northern Ireland’s numbers of new diagnoses are relatively small, the charity leader is frustrated that more isn’t being done to eliminate HIV here. Jacquie Richardson believes the key to ending HIV in Northern Ireland is testing. She explained,
“The fact that around 100 new cases of HIV occur in Northern Ireland means that there are people who, through no fault of their own, are HIV+ and do not know it. The only way to end onward transmission is to get tested, know your status and to access medical treatment.
“Ironically, those who are most at risk of getting HIV are the people who do not consider themselves “at risk”.”
“We’re calling for the Health Minister to introduce HIV blood testing as a matter of course in hospital EDs, which has worked very well in other parts of GB in detecting these otherwise hidden cases. It’s the simplest and most common sense way to tackle HIV so it can be wiped out altogether.”
Within the last month, the Department of Health has confirmed that a new injectable form of the HIV-prevention drug PrEP, will be made available here, news which has been widely welcomed.
However, Positive Life has urged a note of caution. Jacquie Richardson continued,
“Prevention only works when people know their options and can access them easily. The NI Health Survey revealed that only 17% of those surveyed were aware of PrEP: this is another indication of a very disappointing information void around sexual health.
“Northern Ireland has a genuine opportunity to be the first region in the UK to reach zero new HIV diagnosis by 2030 but we’re only going to achieve this with a targeted effort.
“World AIDS Day is our chance to get the facts out there, and blow apart the old myths which mean that hundreds of people here are still living with HIV in silence, secrecy and shame. Our message is: get tested, know your status and end HIV.”
Positive Life provides free, confidential rapid HIV testing at its Belfast centre and conducts outreach testing across Northern Ireland.
For more information, visit www.positivelifeni.com or call 0800 137 437.
ENDS
Media contact: Brown O’Connor Communications:
Vicki Caddy
vicki@brownoconnor.com
07814 380487
Mark Hynes mark@brownoconnor.com