HIV, Hepatitis and sexual health must be priority areas for public health campaigns. Our aims are clear. We need to:

  • Increase awareness
  • Increase testing
  • Reduce late diagnosis
  • Reduce transmission
  • Reduce stigma

Key Messages

  • One in twenty of those living with HIV are unaware they are carrying the infection.
  • 1 in 12 people worldwide are living with the Hepatitis B or C virus.
  • People do not consider themselves at risk of infection.
  • There is a lack of medical awareness of, and testing for, STIs of all kinds – including HIV and Hepatitis.
  • In recent years, there has been a lack of media attention resulting in low awareness and significant ongoing stigma, and this remains a major barrier to testing.

“It’s all about education,” says Dr Steve Taylor, our Medical Director. “At every level, and in every discipline, as clinicians we need to be aware of the symptoms and signs that HIV and Hepatitis can present with, and of the necessity of testing for it.

“Recommending a simple blood test is not about passing judgement on a person’s lifestyle, neither does it affect their life insurance premiums; but it may well save their life.”

The key to the success we seek is in the quality of our engagement. If we can get the right messages to the right people, the right decisions will be made.