The 2014 Terrence Higgins Trust Auction catalogue
The 2014 Terrence Higgins Trust Auction catalogue
The 2014 Terrence Higgins Trust Auction catalogue
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Together We Can Stop HIV<br />
Paul Ward, Acting Chief Executive, <strong>Terrence</strong> <strong>Higgins</strong> <strong>Trust</strong><br />
Treatment can<br />
stop HIV being<br />
passed on. But<br />
thousands have HIV<br />
and don’t know it.<br />
Order your free postal HIV test<br />
or find where to test:<br />
StartsWithMe.org.uk<br />
startswithme @startswith_me<br />
Tonight, we want to share some good<br />
news with you. In Britain the vast<br />
majority of people who are diagnosed<br />
with HIV get on to effective treatment.<br />
This is testimony to <strong>Terrence</strong> <strong>Higgins</strong> <strong>Trust</strong>’s<br />
health promotion work, our healthcare system<br />
and free access to treatment for everyone<br />
diagnosed with HIV. Medication suppresses<br />
the amount of the HIV in the body to such<br />
a low level that it is extremely unlikely that<br />
HIV will be passed on. For most people on<br />
successful treatment this means that,<br />
to all intents and purposes, they are no<br />
longer infectious.<br />
However, we also have a major challenge<br />
which is affecting the lives of thousands.<br />
It is estimated that around 25,000 people in<br />
Britain are living with HIV but don’t know it.<br />
Over the last few years <strong>Terrence</strong> <strong>Higgins</strong> <strong>Trust</strong><br />
has single-mindedly focused on getting<br />
as many people as possible, from the<br />
communities most affected by HIV in the UK,<br />
to regularly test for HIV.<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority of people who get HIV in the<br />
UK get it from someone who does not know<br />
that they have the virus. Because they do not<br />
know their HIV status, they have not been<br />
given the opportunity to start treatment -<br />
and in many cases may be highly infectious.<br />
Through initiatives such as National HIV<br />
Testing Week we have worked more closely<br />
than ever before with our partners in the<br />
NHS, local government and the community to<br />
increase the number of tests and find those<br />
living with HIV who are as yet undiagnosed.<br />
Our community testing services already run<br />
weekly clinics in places where we can find<br />
people from the communities most at risk<br />
of HIV. We go to saunas, gay clubs, African<br />
churches, barber shops and even run football<br />
tournaments to reach African men. We have<br />
developed the first national postal HIV testing<br />
service and in 2013 sent out over 10,000 test<br />
kits. We know that the more people who test<br />
for HIV and get on to treatment, the fewer<br />
people will be infectious.<br />
Reaching out to the undiagnosed population<br />
is a big task. We have to work together with<br />
community testing services and sexual health<br />
clinics. We have to overcome stigma and<br />
encourage people to test regularly. We have<br />
to develop new, more convenient and cheaper<br />
ways of testing for HIV and be there to<br />
support people when they are diagnosed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bottom line is that the more people with<br />
HIV who get on treatment, the fewer people<br />
will be infectious - and fewer people will be<br />
infected. But changing attitudes to HIV<br />
testing and persuading people to test -<br />
so that those who need to start treatment<br />
can - is a huge task. We cannot do it on<br />
our own, that is why we need you to join<br />
us and support our efforts to stop the spread<br />
of HIV.<br />
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