Wednesday, November 26, 2008
THT Launches New Health Campaign
Terrence Higgins Trust is launching a new campaign to raise awareness of the levels of undiagnosed HIV in gay men to co-incide with World Aids Day. The campaign, ‘THIVK you’re still negative?’ will include adverts in gay press, condom packs, posters and scratch cards.
The aim of the campaign is to get men to consider if they have HIV without realising.
The Health Protection Agency estimates up to 10,000 gay men in Britain have HIV without knowing. Many gay men are still being diagnosed late, at the point where they should already be on treatment. Late diagnosis brings a much higher likelihood of serious illness and premature death, it can reduce treatment options and obviously has an effect on onward transmission of the virus.
Marc Thompson, Deputy Head of Health Promotion at Terrence Higgins Trust said
“A lot of gay men who’ve had unprotected sex assume they’re still HIV negative but thousands who make that assumption are wrong. Some are relying on an old test result or just presume that their partners would tell them if they had HIV. With around a quarter of gay men with HIV unaware they are infected it’s a dangerous presumption. We hope this campaign will encourage men to think about their risk and if necessary, consider getting tested so they know for sure.”
THT and partner organisations will be taking the campaign into gay bars and clubs on World AIDS Day. The materials include information on how long on average gay men remain undiagnosed before testing positive, the possibility of sexual partners having HIV without knowing and the risk of undiagnosed men telling sexual partners that they don’t have HIV.
THIVK is a CHAPS campaign, funded by the Department of Health. CHAPS is a partnership of community-based organisations, co-ordinated by THT, which carry out HIV health promotion work with gay men in England and Wales.
Men who would like to talk to someone about their own risk and the chance they may have HIV can call THT Direct on 0845 12 21 200. Details of testing clinics can also be found on www.tht.org.uk
The aim of the campaign is to get men to consider if they have HIV without realising.
The Health Protection Agency estimates up to 10,000 gay men in Britain have HIV without knowing. Many gay men are still being diagnosed late, at the point where they should already be on treatment. Late diagnosis brings a much higher likelihood of serious illness and premature death, it can reduce treatment options and obviously has an effect on onward transmission of the virus.
Marc Thompson, Deputy Head of Health Promotion at Terrence Higgins Trust said“A lot of gay men who’ve had unprotected sex assume they’re still HIV negative but thousands who make that assumption are wrong. Some are relying on an old test result or just presume that their partners would tell them if they had HIV. With around a quarter of gay men with HIV unaware they are infected it’s a dangerous presumption. We hope this campaign will encourage men to think about their risk and if necessary, consider getting tested so they know for sure.”
THT and partner organisations will be taking the campaign into gay bars and clubs on World AIDS Day. The materials include information on how long on average gay men remain undiagnosed before testing positive, the possibility of sexual partners having HIV without knowing and the risk of undiagnosed men telling sexual partners that they don’t have HIV.
THIVK is a CHAPS campaign, funded by the Department of Health. CHAPS is a partnership of community-based organisations, co-ordinated by THT, which carry out HIV health promotion work with gay men in England and Wales.
Men who would like to talk to someone about their own risk and the chance they may have HIV can call THT Direct on 0845 12 21 200. Details of testing clinics can also be found on www.tht.org.uk
