The 2014 Terrence Higgins Trust Auction catalogue

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