Smiley Sunday returns to Dr Brightons with a bang at 7.30pm this evening raising money for the Rainbow Fund.
Compere, Kyle Wallace
A brilliant lineup of funny people has been assembled including: Trev Tokabi, Carl Carzana, Alex Petrovic, Steve Pepper, Emi d’Escrivan and Victoria Howden. Kyle Wallace will compere the evening.
Entry is just £3, happy hour prices will be in operation all night with buy one, get one free on selected cocktails and there will be a charity raffle.
New Scientist website reveal new HIV infections in gay men have fallen by nearly a third since 2015 across England.
The drop may be due to people buying medicines such as PrEP online against mainstream medical advice.
A similar fall was reported in London by four sexual health clinics. These new results, which are preliminary figures from sexual health clinics in England for 2016 reveal the trend is happening across the country.
Valerie Delpech
This data was presented at the recent HepHIV conference in Malta by Valerie Delpech from Public Health England who told New Scientist: “Provisional data suggests that HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men in England has fallen, although it is not possible to confirm this at a national level until all data for 2016 have been received.”
Until last year just over half of new UK HIV infections were in gay men, so ultimately, a fall in this group will have a big impact on the course of the epidemic.
One explanation is that the drop is down to people taking medicines that slash their chances of catching HIV, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP.
However, these drugs aren’t available on the NHS and cost around £400 a month when prescribed privately which results in many gay men buying online generic versions from pharmacies in India and elsewhere.
Official NHS advice is that it is dangerous to purchase medicines in this way because they could have the wrong active ingredient, no active ingredient or an incorrect dosage.
Many people continue to buy their generic drugs through a website called I Want PrEP Now, which works with NHS clinics to check the drugs are genuine. Doctors also provide the generics users with urine tests, to check the medicine isn’t causing kidney damage, as this is a possible side-effect.
Other explanations for the fall in rates, include wider testing and encouraging people to start taking HIV medicines as soon as they’re diagnosed. This makes them much less likely to pass on the infection because it cuts the amount of virus in their genital fluids.
Whether it’s PrEP or early treatment intervention that’s causing the fall it puts pressure on NHS England to move quickly to instigate their recently announced trial making PrEP available to 10,000 gay and straight people across the country.
Dr Michael Brady
Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “After years of high rates of HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men, it is really exciting to see these indications of such a sharp drop in England.
“It is early days but this points towards what can be achieved when we utilise all the weapons in our arsenal against HIV transmission. This includes access to condoms, testing, PrEP and, crucially, diagnosing and treating people as early as possible so they can become uninfectious.
“This is extremely positive news for gay and bisexual men, who continue to be one of the groups most affected by HIV. However, it is no time for complacency and we must redouble our efforts to prevent HIV among other at-risk groups as well.
“If we can build on this remarkable progress with continued investment in HIV testing and prevention, including a long-term NHS funded PrEP programme for all those who are at risk, a world without HIV transmission could be within our grasp.”
SOUL SAFARI 1: A day to explore LGBT+ spirituality organised by Village Metropolitan Community Church.
Events on Sunday, February 5 include:
10am – 1pm Card Readings.
Discover yourself with the help of The Jesus Deck. These cards can speak to us whatever our beliefs to help us discover elements of our unique spiritual journey.
Alistair Appleton
10am – 11am Alistair Appleton: The Sacred Space of the Body.
Alistair is perhaps best known for hosting 14 seasons of Escape to the Country, but he is also a qualified and well-respected therapist. In this meditation we explore ways of connecting more deeply with our sacred selves.
11am – 12pm Peta Evans Jesters and Angels: Trans voices in the church.
Uncovering trans voices that have helped to change the world.
12pm – 1:15pm Lilith Wildwood: The Sacred Blueprint
A soul journey from the inner world to the outer cosmos. Go along and join Lilith in a journey within where you can experience the expanse of soul and universe as one.
1:30pm – 3pm Andy Black – Follow the Faun. Move your body, blow your mind, open your heart, tickle your fancy! – An interactive workshop by performance artist and actor Andy Black that teaches you how to travel through new worlds and dimensions to experience ecstasy, transformation, and a serious attack of the giggles! Highly recommended.
3pm – 4:30pm The Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus Tribute Concert – Remembering Pablo Fernández-Arias.
There is no charge for this concert but a collection will be taken for the work of MindOut, a local LGBT Focused mental health charity.
LGBT History Month is an international month-long annual observance of our LGBT+ History and the opportunity to commemorate and remember the bravery of those who campaigned and spoke out over the years to help us achieve the freedoms and equality we enjoy today.
The PHIL STARR PAVILION, New Steine Gardens, Brighton, BN2 1PB provides a fully functional stage, light and sound system with heating and licenced bar.
This ground breaking affiliation seeks to engage the city in the wide range of issues highlighted through the work of the Brighton & Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum, as well as partner/stakeholder work.
3pm – 4:30pm
You must be logged in to post a comment.