Cornwall comes together to mark World Aids Day and raise awareness
A red ribbon flag is flying outside County Hall in Truro
A red ribbon flag is flying outside County Hall in Truro as Cornwall comes together to mark World Aids Day (1st December).
Cornwall Council is helping to raise awareness, 40 years since the first reported cases of HIV-related illnesses and deaths.
With the UK working towards no new transmissions of HIV by 2030, the Eddystone Trust, who are commissioned by the Council to provide HIV prevention across Cornwall, want to raise awareness of how easy it is to test for the virus and how those with living with HIV can live a healthy and normal life.
Today an estimated 105,200 people live with HIV in the UK, and 97% of those people take medication to control the virus and prevent them passing it on to anyone else. However, evidence suggests there are over 5,000 people in the United Kingdom living with undiagnosed HIV and those who feel they may they have exposed themselves to the virus are encouraged to check their status by testing.
Andy Virr, Portfolio Holder for Adults, Wellbeing and Public Health at Cornwall Council, said “We recognise how far we’ve come since the times when being diagnosed with HIV was a death sentence. With early diagnosis and effective treatments sufferers can live long, healthy lives. We need to work together to reduce the stigma of HIV and encourage people to get tested.”
James Mead, Development Lead for Prevention at The Eddystone Trust, said: “Every year we ask people to wear a ribbon to remember those who have died from an AIDS related illness and show solidarity with those who are Living with HIV. This year we want to break the stigma around testing and raise as much awareness as we can that effective treatment means you can live as long as anyone else, and when the amount of the virus in your blood is reduced to undetectable levels, this means you cannot pass on HIV. Testing puts you in control and isn’t something to be afraid of.”
Since December 2019, Brook has been delivering a new innovative all-age sexual health and contraception service in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Kay Rundle, Service Manager at Brook, says: "Brook is committed to increasing accessibility and challenging inequality. Through our innovative digital service, we are giving Cornwall residents aged 16+ the option to take charge of their sexual health online. Crucially, our free home testing kits for STIs, including HIV, can be ordered any time, from anywhere. This means that vital HIV testing is more accessible for people who find it difficult to visit a clinic.”
Testing for HIV puts you in control of your health and thanks to treatment, means you can live a healthy life.
Testing is easy to do at home by ordering a testing kit from Brook online or by visiting the Brook sexual health clinics across Cornwall, or by ordering a home test through the Eddystone charity’s website.