People living with HIV to speak out on World AIDS Day

Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, is planning two national projects around this year’s World AIDS Day on Sunday, December 1.

Key dates include:

• National HIV Testing Week (November 22 – 29)

This November sees the second annual National HIV Testing Week, coordinated by THT and its partners in HIV Prevention England. Funded by the Department of Health, the week aims to encourage communities at an increased risk of infection in the UK (gay men and people from Africa) to test more regularly for the virus.

A number of events are already planned across the country during the week, targeting people most at risk of HIV, and both communities are encouraged to pledge their support for HIV testing on pledge walls at www.startswithme.org.uk

• Ask Me About HIV (November 30 – December 1)

During the weekend of World AIDS Day, THT will be supporting people with HIV to raise awareness and combat stigma by speaking out publicly about their condition. Public understanding of the virus can seem stuck in the past, with too few people aware of the advances in testing and treatment that have transformed HIV from a terminal illness to a manageable condition.

Today, so long as someone is diagnosed in good time, they can have a full  life, a near-normal life expectancy, even start a family. According to one of THT’s beneficiaries, “the most damaging thing about HIV today is what people without HIV think about it.