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Thompson

Health authorities in the United Kingdom are being urged to back a national HIV/Aids day focusing on the black community, as is done in the United States

National Black HIV/Aids Awareness Day began in the US on February 7, 2000, to build the capacity and increase awareness, participation and support for HIV prevention, care and treatment among African-Americans.

The primary goal of NBHAAD is to motivate African-Americans to get tested and know their HIV status; get educated about the transmission modes of HIV/Aids; get involved in their local community; and get treated if they are currently living with HIV or are newly diagnosed.

The specific focus on the black community is unique to the US. Annual World Aids Day is marked on December 1.

However, campaigners agree that a UK event specifically for the British black community could be helpful in tackling the illness.

Marc Thompson, Terrence Higgins Trust’s African communities spokesperson said: “We need to take advantage of any opportunities we can to raise awareness of HIV and sexual health among black communities in the UK. A national black HIV awareness day is certainly an option we should look at to achieve this.

“Black African communities have the highest number of new diagnoses for HIV of any group in the UK and are currently testing later in their HIV infection which means that their immune system is more badly damaged. Young people from black communities are also disproportionately affected by other sexually transmitted infections too, including gonorrhea and chlamydia.”

Thompson added: “There is currently no high profile day in the UK to raise awareness of HIV among black communities, although many organisations take part in World Aids Day on December 1st.”

Rhon Reynolds of the African HIV Policy Network (AHPN) said that creating such a day would require a united effort across the black community.

He said: “My immediate reaction is that we couldn’t just replicate the same thing as in the US. Launching such a day in the US also meant mobilising a lot of black people in the media, politically, and within the wider community. We are far from that kind of joined-up response which has been a long time coming in the US, given the size and state of the epidemic.

“At the same time the fact that one third of black and African people in the UK are unaware of their HIV status means that we need targeted messages that don’t further stigmatise and marginalise communities. The AHPN for the first time last year got David Lammy, MP, to test openly for HIV, we need more visible and leading black figures championing this issue.”

Reynolds added: “Fear of further stigmatising black communities have kept us from driving forward a national black HIV awareness day.

Thompson said: “Attitudes towards condom use are also an issue and very often women do not feel able to make decisions about protecting themselves and insisting their partners wear condoms. We need to start an open conversation about condom use and accept the reality that HIV and sexually transmitted infections are affecting many people within black communities.

“Some church leaders have already started to talk to their congregations about using condoms and we need many more to follow suit,” he said.

Published: 16 February 2007
Issue: 1256

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