It’s National HIV Testing Week (5-11 February). Every year this annual campaign, run by HIV Prevention England, aims to raise awareness about the importance of regular testing, to help reduce the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV and those diagnosed late. The number of people diagnosed with HIV is falling, but there is still work to do.
Friday 1 December is #WorldAIDSDay – a global campaign by the National AIDS Trust, which has been recognised on 1st December every year since 1988. Its aim is to support those living with HIV, remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS-related illness, secure the rights of people living with the condition and continue the fight to end the stigma surrounding HIV.
Surveillance data concerning sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has shown large increases in bacterial STI diagnoses among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) attending sexual health services (SHS) in England between 2021 and 2022.
Today marks the start of Sexual Health Week. Being safe means feeling empowered to access contraception, testing and treatment. It means understanding consent, healthy relationships and pleasure. It also means providing relationships and sex education (RSE) that gives young people the tools to navigate the world safely – both online and offline – and delivering safe, accessible sexual health services, wherever people need them. That’s why for #SHW23 we’re #PlayingItSafe!
