HIV Testing Week 2022 - LSL
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HIV Testing Week 2022

01 Feb HIV Testing Week 2022

Posted at 18:03h in Uncategorized by
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National HIV Testing Week 2022 is taking place between February 7th until February 11th 2022. It is is a campaign to promote regular testing among the most affected population groups in England. This helps to reduce the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV and those diagnosed late.

Get involved

During the week, Love, Sex, Life LSL is calling on residents of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham to get tested for HIV by order an at-home HIV testing kit or visiting an in-person clinic.

London is the first city in the world to diagnose, treat and virally suppress 97% of people living with HIV. However, the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham have the highest rates of HIV in England. 8,700 people across the three boroughs have tested positive for HIV.

Love Sex Life LSL will host the following outreach events during the week across Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. We will deliver drop-in sessions,  providing HIV testing on Tuesday and Wednesday only.

  • Monday, 7th February – Waldron Health Centre, Lewisham (SE14 6LD): 11am-3pm
  • Tuesday, 8th February – Change Grow Live, Southwark (Cambridge House, 1 Addington Square, London, SE5 0HF): 11am-3pm
  • Wednesday, 9th February – Mosaic Clubhouse, Lambeth (65, Effra Road Brixton, SW2 1BZ): 12-2pm
  • Wednesday, 9th February – Lewisham Assessment Recovery Centre (Exeter Way, SE14 6AY): 3-5pm

HIV in LSL 

The boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham face some of the greatest sexual health challenges in the country. Together, they have the highest rate of diagnosed HIV in England, with 8,700 residents diagnosed with HIV. And while HIV diagnosis rates are falling across the boroughs, there remain some significant inequalities of concern. 8,700 people across the three boroughs have tested positive for HIV. In the London borough of Lewisham, heterosexual contact is the most common exposure type (54%) of those diagnosed with HIV.

There are still people living with HIV who are unaware of their status, with the highest level of late diagnosis amongst women of Black African ethnicity in their 50s and 60s. And late diagnosis can significantly impact a person’s health, weakening their immune system and leading to other illnesses. We also know that a disproportionate number of HIV cases are being diagnosed for people living in the most deprived areas of the boroughs.

As a result of a combination of prevention methods among gay and bisexual men, 2019 saw a fall of 18% in HIV diagnoses in that demographic in one year and 47% compared to 2014 – especially in London, where new diagnoses decreased by 54% in these five years. Diagnoses in women however only declined by 4% in the past year. Women accounted for 28% of new diagnoses in 2019.

Public Health England HIV Research 2017:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/786237/annual_epidemiological_spotlight_on_HIV_in_the_east_of_england_2017_data.pdf​

HIV Facts

  • After 6 months with an undetectable viral load the chances of passing HIV on to someone else are very low. If you test negative, you have more prevention tools available today to prevent HIV than ever before.
  • A person living with HIV and on antiretroviral therapy (known as ART) can achieve an undetectable viral load which means that they cannot transmit the virus to their sexual partner. U=U means “Undetectable = Untransmittable.”
  • If you are pregnant, you should be tested for HIV so that you can begin treatment if you’re HIV-positive. If an HIV-positive woman is treated for HIV early in her pregnancy, the risk of transmitting HIV to her baby can be very low.People with HIV are unable to pass on the infection sexually if they are on treatment and have undetectable levels of the virus; this is known as ‘Undetectable=Untransmittable’ or ‘U=U’
  • HIV-related stigma and discrimination can negatively impact quality of life and prevent people from being tested for HIV. In the survey Positive Voices, one in eight (13%) people in England with HIV said they had not told anyone, other than healthcare professionals, about their HIV status (16% of women and 11% of men).

HIV Testing Week Toolkit

We’ve put together a toolkit to help you promote HIV Testing Week across LSL. Share far and wide!

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