Tag Archives: World AIDS Day

The Need for A HIV Strategy

Posted on December 7, 2012 by | 1 Comment

hiv

By the end of 2012 it is estimated that there will be 100,000 people living with
HIV in the UK.  HIV diagnoses remain stubbornly high.  The two communities most affected are gay and bisexual men and African men and women.

Approximately one in twenty gay and bisexual men and one in twenty African men and women in the UK are living with HIV. In 2010, 3,000 gay and bisexual men were newly diagnosed with HIV; this is the highest number of gay and bisexual men newly diagnosed with HIV ever reported in a single year.

In the same year, half of all people diagnosed were diagnosed late; people diagnosed late have a ten-fold increased risk of death within one year of HIV
diagnosis compared to those diagnosed promptly. And still nearly a quarter of people living with HIV in the UK are unaware of their status. This is of real
concern given that the majority of transmissions come from people who are themselves unaware that they have HIV.

Advances in treatment have seen enormous improvements in quality of life and life expectancy for people living with HIV. In 2010, 85% of people on treatment had an undetectable viral load within a year of starting medication, a marker of
successful treatment. However, this success in treatment has not been matched by improvements in social support for people living with HIV. Many still  experience stigma and discrimination, live in poverty and cannot access the psychological support they need.

Although HIV remains one of the most serious infectious diseases affecting the UK, public understanding and knowledge of HIV is poor and getting worse. Recent Ipsos MORI research commissioned by NAT revealed that only one in
three adults were able to correctly identify all the ways HIV is and is not transmitted from a list of options, with almost a fifth mentioning one incorrect
method such as spitting or sharing a glass. One in five were unaware that HIV is transmitted through sex without a condom between a man and woman.

The research also showed a link between poor knowledge about HIV and negative and judgemental attitudes towards people living with HIV. There is
clearly still a need to improve awareness among the public, both to prevent the spread of HIV – each new infection costs the UK over a quarter of a million
pounds in direct lifetime medical costs alone – and to prevent misconceptions which fuel stigma and discrimination.

Despite this situation, there is no strategy for HIV in England – the last national strategy for sexual health and HIV came to an end in 2010. Over 90% of people living with HIV in the UK live in England, and yet England is the only country within the UK not to have a strategy.

Would you like to know more? Read the National AIDS Trust HIV Strategy.

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FREE Training: HIV & Culture

Posted on December 6, 2012 by | Comments Off

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Delivered in collaboration with people from a wide range of communities and cultures in Leicester, we will explore how culture affects perspectives and experiences of HIV.

  • Date & Time: Thursday, 13th December between 13:00-16:30 hrs.
  • Venue: The Michael Wood Centre, 53 Regent Road, Leicester, LE1 6YF.

The session will also look at ways of providing knowledge and empowerment about HIV to people with different cultural needs.”

Spaces are very limited, (only 10 available).  If you would like to attend, please contact us on 0116 2559995 and speak to our team who are happy to help.

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Archbishop Tutu, LASS International Patron, gives 3 key messages for World AIDS Day

Posted on November 23, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has sent a special video message from Cape Town to mark 1st December, World AIDS Day, and the 25th Anniversary of a Leicester charity providing support for HIV positive people and HIV education and awareness across the communities.

The Archbishop, who earlier this year became International Patron of LASS (Leicestershire AIDS Support Services), has three key messages for the people of Leicester and around the world. Firstly he says that you should put your mind at ease and know your HIV status. Secondly he says that together we can all reduce the stigma about HIV. Finally he gives a special message for everyone living with HIV that ‘We thank God for the medical practitioners and researchers and carers who are seized with the task of supporting, loving and healing. We place our faith in God to maintain our spirit. And we place our trust in our medical and support services to keep our bodies well.’

Jenny Hand, CEO at LASS, says: “These messages from such a globally renowned leader will help us so much to make a difference to the lives of many people, locally and further afield. It is our 25th year and we still have so much to do to change people’s attitudes and understanding about HIV, to make it possible for people living with HIV to have lives free from stigma and discrimination. National HIV testing week is 23rd to 28th November this year – when everyone working in the field of HIV is encouraging people to get tested and know their HIV status. Archbishop Tutu’s message will provide encouragement and support to this campaign.”

LASS, HIV 25 years on …. And it won’t go away

LASS is marking its 25th anniversary with a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to create an archive and to publish a history of the organisation – “…and it won’t go away” – 25 Years of Leicestershire AIDS Support Services – based on interviews with founders, volunteers, staff, Trustees and people living with HIV from across the 25 years of its existence. “This is a ground breaking publication of national significance,” said Jenny Hand. “It charts the response of the people of Leicestershire to the arrival of HIV and AIDS and reveals the significant changes for HIV locally and nationally as well as for LASS, and people living with HIV. We hope that our publication and the work we continue to do does justice to the lives of the many people who died with AIDS in the early years.”

The book is being launched on 30 November and copies will be available to download free from the website http://www.lass.org.uk after that date. Hard copies can be ordered from reception@lass.org.uk at a cost of £2.50 to cover postage and packing. (Update, it’s launched! Click here)

LASS will also be celebrating World AIDS Day with a fundraising concert at the Leicester YMCA on Saturday 1st December with four live bands including the multicultural UK dub and roots band CounterAction, Multimorph, Sleeping through Rapture and George Sandersun. More details are available here

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Mr Gay UK Vows to Donate Winnings to HIV Charity

Posted on January 16, 2012 by | Comments Off

The recently crowned winner of Mr. Gay UK has vowed to give some of his prize money to a prominent HIV/Aids charity in an attempt to raise more awareness about the disease.

Samuel Kneen, 22, a hairdresser from Cardiff, says he will give some of his £2,000 winnings to the Terrance Higgins Trust after seeing a close friend suffer from HIV, saying he feels strongly about supporting the cause.

He told Wales Online: “I paid off a little bit of debt and I said that I’d donate some money to Terrence Higgins Trust,” he said.

“I told them when I entered the contest that I know somebody who has got HIV and I want to support him. It is something I feel strongly about,” he said.

As well as the donation, he also hopes to play a part in raising general awareness of the issue. “I walked around Cardiff on World Aids Day last year and the shops didn’t know what I was talking about when I was asking if they had any ribbons for sale. I’d like to make a difference if I can, and help people know more about it,” he added.

Kneen also won a trip to Morocco as part of the prize and he has the chance to enter the Mr. Gay Europe competition, but he already feels proud of his achievement. “I was excited because I won,” he said. “But it was more the fact that I felt proud of myself that I had accomplished something. That was the biggest reward,”

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A Special Message From Canon Gideon

Posted on December 9, 2011 by | 1 Comment

As you know, last Thursday, 1st December was World AIDS Day.

The following is a message from Rev Canon Dr Gideon B Byamugisha, Goodwill Ambassador on HIV & AIDS, Christian Aid Convener, Global Working Group on Faith, SSDDIM & HIV explaining the SAVE message and encouraging others to join the SAVE Campaign.

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World AIDS Day 2011: LASS In The News – ITV1 Julie’s Real Story and Our Free Rapid HIV Testing Service!

Posted on December 1, 2011 by | Comments Off

We are pleased publish our local advert to promote HIV testing, in our office location in Leicester Town Centre, on Regent Road.

This advert speaks with 15 languages internationally.  This advert cost marginally and considerably less than the Governments 1987 “Tombstone” Advert.

Our message is clear, it is better to know your own HIV status and you can get a HIV test at LASS, and have the result within a minute!

Our team of volunteers have specialist training to provide a free and confidential test, we also have a fantastic support team to provide after-care and further information if required.  We also have established network links so we can refer to more specialist agencies all around Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland so you can be sure to get expert advice for your needs.

We also have a support group called LhivE, a group of people from Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland who are living with HIV.  Living with HIV brings a whole set of its own issues and LhivE demonstrate that people living with HIV can lead fulfilling and safe lives with choices.

We hope you like our new advert and hope that you’ll feel comfortable to contact us if you would like a free and confidential test.

The city of Leicester has the fastest-rising HIV rate in the east Midlands and the sixth-highest in the country.

Meanwhile, in 2009/10, national research demonstrated that community testing was effective in delivering tests to those at risk, preventing late diagnosis and thereby reducing onward transmission. As there was no such community testing service in Leicester, we set about creating one!

It is the training of our volunteers which makes the project unique as a method of engaging with specific African communities which are considered to have a high need.  As well as delivering courses to train volunteers to carry out tests among Zimbabwean and Congolese community groups, we also provide a safe and confidential place for people to receive a test.

Our volunteers have created a 50-second advert promoting the value of knowing your HIV status in 15 languages.

We have delivered more than 400 tests, more than half of which are to the BME communities in the region.  While the first phase of the project involved delivering tests only from our building, funding has ensured  we can use our van to take testing to more venues across Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland.

We were delighted to be highly commended by the Charity Awards, the UK charity sector’s most prestigious awards scheme earlier this year, after being short-listed in the Healthcare & Medical Research category.   This means we have been judged to be of the best 32 Charities in the whole country. Our sincere thanks go to all our service users, volunteers, staff and people in partner organisations who are the real reason we have achieved such a magnificent accolade. Community based HIV testing and our advertisement for this service were the basis of for our application.

WIDESPREAD TESTING IS URGENTLY NEEDED – Health Protection Agency.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) predicts that unless more focus is given to HIV prevention and routine testing, more people could become infected.

It is 30 years since the first case of HIV was formally diagnosed, and since then there have been several major breakthroughs in medical treatment resulting in longer life expectancy for those infected by the virus.

But some medical experts now believe because of the success of anti viral drugs in prolonging the lives of carriers, it has led to complacency.

HPA figures show that in the last three decades 115,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV in the UK alone, with 27,000 people having gone on to develop full-blown Aids – and 20,000 of those having since died.

We need a complete and wholesome approach to treating HIV and most importantly help prevent its spread – Dr Rupert Whitaker, a long-standing HIV survivor

But what is worrying the medical profession and campaign pressure groups is that, despite all the medical advances over the last three decades, the number of HIV cases in the UK is expected to rise next year to 100,000 and some of those cases will be people who do not yet realise they have been infected by the virus.

Dr Valerie Delpech, Head of HIV surveillance at the HPA, believes widespread testing is urgently needed to help get new cases diagnosed.

“It is so crucial when treating someone who is HIV positive as quickly as possible. That way their lives can be prolonged considerably,” she said.

“Provided someone is tested within the early stages of infection, so they have only had HIV for a short time, and they receive effective medication followed up by effective therapy, then their life expectancy is very good.

“In fact we can safely say HIV is no longer a life threatening illness but a chronic life long condition which if treated correctly can mean people can live to their normal life expectancy.”

LASS are registered for JustTextGiving which enables supporters to make donations of up to £10 by text message.

It’s easy to donate to LASS, and it takes no time at all, simply text: “LASS25 £10″ to 70070.  (You can change the amount of your donation to: £1, £2, £3, £4 or £5 if you prefer) and you’ll receive a text message receipt, and the chance to add Gift Aid by text or in web form.  More details are available from this link.

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World Aids Day: Living With HIV, The Virus That’s No Longer A Death Sentence

Posted on November 29, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Thirty years after the first reported diagnoses of AIDS, Sarah Morrison of The Independent shows how the world has been dealing with a virus that is no longer a death sentence

Red balloons will be released, vigil candles lit and heads of state will recall those who have fallen victim to HIV/Aids on the 24th World Aids Day, to be held this week. Thirty years after the first reported diagnoses of Aids – then tantamount to a death sentence – one remarkable fact highlights the advances medicine has made: the number of people living with HIV has reached a record 34 million.

Thanks to antiretroviral drugs, which almost 50 per cent of people with the virus can now access, the number of Aids-related deaths around the world stands at 1.8 million a year – its lowest level since a peak in 2005, according to a recent UNAIDS report. While those who lived through the late 1980s and early 1990s in Britain will remember a rapid rise in Aids deaths, which largely affected gay men, injecting drug users and people who had received blood infusions, the fastest growing group of people with the disease in this country are now the over-50s.

But while HIV rates have fallen elsewhere, in the UK the number of diagnosed cases increased by more than 50 per cent between 2000 and 2009. There are now more than 90,000 people in Britain with HIV. In 2009 there were three times as many heterosexual people infected in the UK with HIV than in 2001, according to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

The Independent on Sunday met two HIV-positive people living contrasting lives in different parts of world.

Chris Williams, 47

Chris Williams tested positive for HIV three years ago during a routine check-up. He gave up his job as a personal trainer after his diagnosis and decided to study counselling, so that he can one day work in the public health sector. His infection was spotted early and he has yet to fall ill. He takes five pills a day; they are delivered free of charge to his door every six months.

“My experience of treatment has been very straightforward. I have a blood test twice a year. I see a doctor and he authorises the prescription of my drugs on the basis of the results. I’ve been very lucky and felt no side effects to my medication, except a little fatigue sometimes.

“At the beginning, I only told a few people, but gradually I have become more open about my status. Some people say I’m over-optimistic about the prognosis of my HIV, but I think in this country, there is no need for it to still be a killer disease.

“You can still go out and have a social life. Some people find it difficult to deal with psychologically, and there is still a lot of room for improvement, but it’s not all doom and gloom. When I do go, I hope it won’t be from HIV, but from old age.”

Hellen Njeri Ngugi, 40

Hellen Njeri Ngugi and her husband, also HIV-positive, live with their three children in a one-bedroom house in the Mathare Valley slums, sharing one latrine with 12 neighbours. When Mrs Ngugi was diagnosed with the disease 11 years ago, her husband refused to accept her condition at first. It took Mrs Ngugi two years to get the treatment that she needs, as the clinic was three hours away. Christian Aid has since given her counselling and support.

“When I found out I was HIV-positive, I thought it was the end of my life. People around showed me so much discrimination, including my parents. I could not share anything with them, including eating utensils and sleeping stuff.

“I used to work in a hotel, balancing the finances, but now my husband and I don’t have permanent jobs. Whenever he fell sick, he was sacked. I now make soap, but I can’t walk far, so I have to use my phone to look for customers. It is very difficult to raise money for the family.

“But, through counselling, I was encouraged. I have become a role model for others and was moved to another clinic, a 45-minute walk from my house. I now get my pills every three months.”

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How Can You Support LASS If You Don’t Have The Time?

Posted on November 29, 2011 by | 1 Comment

LASS is registered for JustTextGiving which enables supporters to make donations of up to £10 by text message.

It’s easy to donate to LASS, and it takes no time at all, simply text: “LASS25 £10″ to 70070.  (You can change the amount of your donation to: £1, £2, £3, £4 or £5 if you prefer) and you’ll receive a text message receipt, and the chance to add Gift Aid by text or in web form.

When you make a text donation, it’ll either be deducted from your mobile phone credit or added to your mobile phone bill – and you won’t pay any VAT on your donation.

Has LASS helped you or a friend recently? We provide support for people affected or infected with HIV, our services are free, confidential and individually tailored in consultation with each service user to meet their specific needs. We  aim to assist people in making the best choices for themselves, and to maximise their own potential.

We offer a completely free and confidential rapid HIV test and you’ll get the results within 60 seconds from a simple finger prick test and especially around World AIDS Day, we do everything we can to prevent the spread of HIV and to promote positive sexual health through education, training and community initiatives.

It’s World AIDS day soon, you’ll see us out at supermarkets, school’s, collages, art exhibitions and fund-raisers, feel free to ask us questions and support our cause and if you havent donated to LASS this World AIDS Day yet, please consider a £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or even a £10 donation by text.  It’s simple, quick and easy, you could it right now: LASS25 £10 to 70070

Thank  You

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Art Exhibition for World AIDS Day

Posted on November 29, 2011 by | Comments Off

An art exhibition will be hosted at The Crumbling Cookie, High Street Leicester and the Exchange Bar, Rutland Street Leicester from 1st to 16th December. A proportion of the sales of all the art in the exhibition will be donated to LASS, to assist with crisis funding for people living with or affected by HIV.

Local artist and illustrator, Wayne Anderson has kindly donated a print towards the exhibition. The featured artists include the late Dave Johnson, artist, musician and alchemist whose work was recently exhibited in the “War & Peace” exhibition at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery. His work includes reflections on World War 1, his travels and his alchemical studies. His wife Christine Hume-Johnson will exhibit art inspired by their life together and linked to her use of his journals.

Other artists exhibiting work include:

  • Tony O’Dwyer who has work in the permanent Guinness Collection in Dublin
  • Nick Nixon, local commercial artist, photographer and illustrator
  • Sue Graham, who is recognised for her inspiring water colours and seascapes
  • Jim Tetlow, local musician and artist
  • Maureen Anderson, local musician and artist who is currently in negotiation with an international publishing company who are considering  her book for their 2012 book lists.

Venues:

The Exchange Bar is hosting some pieces from the art exhibition, with free entry to view. The bar is on Rutland Street, opposite the Curve and the Athena, in the Cultural Quarter of Leicester.

Please visit to enjoy the exhibition and the beautiful bar.

The Crumbling Cookie is hosting other pieces in the exhibition, again with free entry to view. The café is on High Street Leicster.

The Crumbling Cookie is hosting the opening night, on Thursday 1st December, World AIDS day, from 4pm to 7pm. Come along and meet the artists. There will be music and poetry featuring George Sanderson, Maureen Anderson and Tony Jones who plays a Seagull Parlour Acoustic, roots from South Africa, Wales and England. He also plays folk and blues, playing covers as well as his own compositions.

We encourage you to visit to enjoy the art. Please join us for the Opening Night from 4-7 on 1st December. Cordial and nibbles will be served.

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One Voice Many Faces: Spread the Realities of HIV & Kick out Stigma & Discrimination

Posted on November 24, 2011 by | Comments Off

It’s that time of year again, World AIDS Day is fast approaching.

This is a day when we reflect and consider those who are infected and affected by HIV. We remember those who have died from the pandemic over the years. We also celebrate the achievements and work of the year for HIV.

A few dates for your diary today so that you can decide what you will do. All these things are free and you are very welcome to come along:

Saturday 26th November, 12 noon:

  • “Choose Life” A service of preparation for World AIDS day at Leicester Cathedral. (Faith in people with HIV event)

Thursday 1st December

  • Leicester Market stall – come along and get your red ribbon.
  • 2 minute silence in the Market Square at 1.12pm.
  • Crumblin’ Cookie (High Street Leicester): Launch party for Art Exhibition 4-7pm

Friday 2nd December:

  • Red Ribbon Party at Club Oxygen. Free entry for Ladies wearing red.
  • Art exhibitions at Crumblin’ Cookie (High Street, Leicester) and The Exchange Bar (opposite Curve) from 1st – 16th December.
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