‘HIV can affect anyone’: Hackney residents urged to get tested as borough aims to end transmission by 2030
People are being urged to get tested for HIV so they can access treatment that can help control the condition, which affects the body’s immune system.
With this year’s World Aids Day being used to highlight the issue, prevention volunteers from Positive East, one of London’s largest HIV charities, has held special testing events in Hackney to reassure people.
The charity’s director Mark Santos said: “In London we have all the resources we need to end all new cases of HIV by 2030, but still people are testing late or remain undiagnosed.
“We need to continue to ensure that all those affected by HIV are aware of our HIV prevention toolkit.”
The kit includes HIV treatment, testing, pre- and post-exposure medication, which suppresses the virus so it is untransmissable, and condoms.
“There’s a couple of reasons why people don’t come forward to take the test,” said Peter Bampton, prevention and testing team manager at Positive East. “There’s the stigma of living with HIV and a fear of needles and blood.”
However he said the condition is manageable and it is important to overcome the myth that it only affects certain communities.
“HIV can affect anyone,” he said, and stressed how vital testing is.
He added: “HIV is a manageable long-term health condition with developments in treatment and support services meaning people living with HIV can have healthy and fulfilling lives in the UK.”
There are approximately 105,200 people living with HIV in the UK, including 4,139 diagnosed in 2019. However, it is estimated that six per cent, around 6,600 people, are not aware that they have it.
Cllr Chris Kennedy, Hackney Council’s cabinet member for health, welcomed the impact of prevention.
The council has a commitment to ending HIV transmission by 2030 and is urging Hackney residents to unite together in support of the fight against HIV and HIV-related stigma.
It is working with partners including Positive East to offer services.
Photograph: Positive East
Hackney was one of the first areas to offer HIV testing at A&E and people can also get tests at hospital and through primary care.
Cllr Kennedy said: “Late diagnosis is still high, meaning regular testing isn’t reaching all of our communities. That’s why it is so important to offer at-home testing and make it as easy as possible to test.”
People can get home testing kits through Positive East.
Bampton reassured people that HIV can be controlled with just one tablet a day and there is a lot of support for people with a positive diagnosis.
He said the 33rd anniversary of World Aids Day, which took place on 1 December, is also an opportunity to challenge myths and stigma, ensuring that everyone in London is aware of the advancements in treatment and prevention.
This includes the empowering message that someone living with HIV and is on effective treatment cannot pass on HIV to someone who is HIV negative.
The Covid pandemic has made people even more aware of the importance of regular testing and it’s hoped this will help normalise it.
Bampton explained that the finger prick blood test carried out in the community takes just 15 minutes to develop and support is on hand for people with anxiety about needles and also about the result.
“We have known people come for an appointment several times because they are so anxious. But we are there to reassure people,” he said.
“We link people with others so that they have support and we would refer them to a sexual health clinic if they have a positive test.”
He added: “The important thing is to make testing as easy and accessible as possible.”
The Positive East team takes tests to libraries, bars, clubs and food banks.
They hold regular testing days at Dalston Superstore, Hackney CVS and at the Crib Youth Project.
Bampton said: “We offer a compassionate, non-judgemental testing services for people 18 and above.”
People of all ages get tested, from teenagers to people in their 70s and 80s.
“For some people it’s their first ever test,” he added. “It’s taken years and years to battle some of the internalised stigma of the 1980s.”
That was a time when the fear of HIV and Aids left many people isolated as well as mourning those who died before medicine caught up with the virus.
Bampton said 35-40 per cent of the people his team sees have never been tested before and it is crucial to reassure the that a positive test result is not a death sentence.
He added: “It is important on World Aids Day to remember those who we have lost along the way who were not so fortunate, and to celebrate those who are with us and thriving.”
Positive East would like to hear from people who would like to get involved as volunteers.
To find out more, visit Positive East – Providing better futures for HIV positive people for 25 years.
Positive East works in:
- Barking & Dagenham
- City of London
- Hackney
- Havering
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest