National AIDS Trust (NAT) has launched a report, HIV and Hepatitis C Co-infection, that looks at hepatitis C infection among gay men who are living with HIV. They are calling for more to be done to reduce this type of co-infection as their are serious health implications such as liver disease.
For further information and to read the report click on the link below.
Bill Gates has donated $750 million from his charitable foundation to the Global Fund which fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. He also emphasised that countries should not decrease the amounts of aid they are giving because of the global economic crisis. For the full story click on the link below.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/26/bill-gates-davos-aid
Here is a link to the Does HIV look like me? website. They have produced a new Stop the Stigma video which is worth a view.
Please click the link below to see information about ‘The Hardest Hit Campaign’ which is currently campaigning to make sure positive changes to the Welfare Reform Bill are not over turned when it returns to the House of Commons. They’re asking all of us to contact our MPs to ask them to support the changes that have been made by the Lords. You can take action to aid in this cause and it only takes a minute to do.
Below is an article about the rise in repeat pregnancies among women who are living with HIV in the UK and Ireland. This emphasises that women who are HIV-positive can have families and, with the appropriate antiretroviral treatments, mother-to-child transmissions can be prevented in most circumstances.
Click on the link below to view the full article on AIDS Map.
Below is an interesting article, written before World AIDS Day 2011, which emphasises the need to destigmatise HIV in Northern Ireland and push for greater funding for care and prevention.
HIV/AIDS Thirty Years On: Challenges and Hopes
By Ruari-Santiago McBride
23/11/2011
The AIDS virus was first discovered three decades ago in the United States. Since then, 30 million people have died from AIDS-related causes and 1.8 million people continue to die every year. According to the World Health Organisation there are currently 33.3 million people living across the world with the HIV virus, which causes AIDS. The impact that HIV/AIDS has had on our global community is internationally recognised on the 1st of December as ‘World AIDS Day’.
Rob Anderson (Chairman of The HIV Support Centre) (second left) encourages all to wear a red ribbon with Michelle Gildernew MP MLA (Chair of Stormont Health Committee), Edwin Poots MLA, (NI Health Minister), and Dr Michael McBride (Chief Medical Officer, DHSSPSNI) | Picture: John Murphy
by Rob Anderson, Chairman of The HIV Support Centre
Today on December 1st 2011 we remember all those affected by the HIV virus, not just here in Northern Ireland but across the world.
The number of people living with HIV in the UK reached an estimated 91,500 in 2010, up from 86,500 in 2009, with a quarter of those unaware of their infection. Some 6,660 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK last year, of them 3000 were gay men, the highest number ever reported. But heterosexual men remain the most likely group to be diagnosed late, at 63% compared with 39% of gay men and 58% of heterosexual women. In Northern Ireland there are approximately 1000 people living with HIV in Northern Ireland however it is estimated that this could be as high as 1250.
This year 2011 is the 30th anniversary of the first description of HIV/AIDS –a virus that has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people worldwide, and continues to do so on a daily basis. However, the spread of the HIV virus is preventable.
So, how do we as a responsible society take action to prevent, support and break the barriers of stigma that surrounds HIV? The theme of World Aids Day 2011 is ‘Zero New HIV Infections” and “Zero 
Discrimination’. Our call is simple. Firstly we encourage all people to know their status; a HIV test takes 60 seconds and is free. Secondly, we are calling on everyone to wear the Red Ribbon, a simple yet powerful symbol that raises awareness, breaks down the barriers of stigma and shows support for all those affected by HIV.
HIV is not visible, it does not discriminate against any section of society, it is unforgiving and it is life changing. You cannot tell a persons HIV status simply by looking at them, and leaving it to chance is no excuse. Sadly, there is still no cure for HIV, yet the advancement in early rapid testing and continuous development for better HIV medication, mean that those who have HIV can continue to live a long and fulfilled life.
The people who have taken the time to get tested are the people who are aware of their HIV status, and through their own personal responsibility strive to reduce the risk of passing on the HIV virus.
As Chairman of The HIV Support Centre my message this year is this
Please show your support by wearing a Red Ribbon and get tested and get tested early. What’s 60 seconds out of your day? It could save your life and that of those you love.
Thank you.
Copyright © 2012 The HIV Support Centre. All rights reserved.
Charity no: XR54104
Company no: NI27941
The Centre
3rd Floor The Warehouse
7 St James Street South
Belfast
BT2 8DN
Tel: 028 9024 9268
Fax: 028 9032 9845
Helpline: 0800 137 437
HIV in the news
For patients with HIV viral load is key in immune response to yellow fever vaccine
Contraception in HIV prevention trials: injectable hormonal methods more effective?
Men who have sex with men may now be the highest-risk group for HIV in Africa, IAVI study suggests
HIV care providers in US struggling to cope with rising patient numbers
Quarter of men resume sex before wounds from circumcision fully healed in Zambian study
Raltegravir/Truvada HIV PEP regimen well tolerated with no infections after its use
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