A new prevention campaign in England aims to stop the spread of HIV within a generation.
The Department of Health in England is funding a new 2 year campaign with the focus on halting the spread of HIV within a generation. The BBC reports the new campaign, , called It Starts With Me and created by the Terrence Higgins Trust:
Urges people in high-risk groups to get tested for HIV at least every 12 months, and more frequently if they have symptoms or have put themselves at risk by having unprotected sex, for example.
According to experts, there are more than 90,000 people in England living with HIV, but 1 in 4 is not even aware that they are infected. Gay and bisexual men, along with people in African communities “make up three-quarters of cases” of HIV in the country. But experts believe that “focused screening and information for high-risk groups could end the epidemic.”
Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive at the trust said, “Someone, somewhere in the UK is diagnosed with HIV every 90 minutes. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to keep ourselves and each other safe … By getting as many people with HIV as possible tested and on effective treatment, we should see new infection rates fall rapidly.” Sir Partridge also points out that people must understand that “HIV is just as relevant an issue today as it was in 1982.”