This European Testing Week (20-27 Nov), Fast Track Cardiff & Vale launches its ‘Do You Know?’ campaign with the aim of increasing HIV testing in Wales and raising awareness of the facts about HIV to eliminate stigma.
ABOUT TESTING WEEK
European Testing Week is a biannual campaign that encourages partner organisations in community, health care and policy institutions throughout Europe to unite for one week twice a year to increase testing efforts and promote awareness of the benefits of earlier hepatitis and HIV testing. This initiative, started in 2013, has grown to be a widely recognised event with hundreds of organisations participating every year. Your organisation can officially sign up to take part in European Testing Week here.
TESTING WEEK IN WALES
We know that Wales has a higher prevalence of HIV stigma and late HIV diagnoses than much of the UK. We also know that the newly introduced postal testing kit is increasing testing figures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; and we have an opportunity to showcase the impact this has had and encourage more people to test.
We know that misinformation or misconceptions play a large role in HIV Stigma and can create a barrier to getting tested. This Testing Week we’re encouraging people to question their understanding of the facts in order to educate and inform them about the support available.
You can read more about HIV in Wales in our report here.
GET INVOLVED
During Testing Week we will be launching our ‘Do You Know?’ campaign as a way of asking people if they know their HIV status and if they know a fact about HIV.
You can download some pre-prepared messages here and some campaign images from our google drive here.
We will be posting across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and we encourage organisations across Wales to get involved. You can also download our campaign brief here.
KEY FACTS
- Knowing your HIV status is the first step to protecting yourself and others. Take pride in knowing yours.
- HIV testing in Wales has never been easier. Order your free confidential postal test kit today at bit.ly/HIVWales
- Anyone can get HIV. It isn’t limited to any one sexuality, race, religion or gender. We all have a responsibility if we have been sexually active to get tested and know our status.
- Late diagnosis can leave lasting damage to your health and increases the risk of transmitting HIV to others as a result of not knowing your status. Don’t wait to get tested.
- With modern HIV treatment you can live as long as anyone else, but you cannot get treated if you don’t know your status.
- If you are sexually active, there is now a treatment ( PrEP) which will prevent you getting HIV and which is now widely available from sexual health clinics across Wales.
Fast Track Cardiff & Vale 