The Embrace project, a health promotion programme for African people living in the UK sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, has awarded support to five voluntary sector organisations in the UK who are developing work to raise awareness of HIV testing among African communities in the UK.
It is estimated that just under 50% of black African people in the UK have not had their HIV infection diagnosed.
The government’s Sexual Health and HIV Strategy seeks to reduce the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV infection by promoting HIV testing, in particular by setting a national standard that all GUM services should offer an HIV test to clinic attendees on their first screening for sexually transmitted infections. Speaking at the Awards ceremony Neil Gerrard, MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS (APPGA), said “the government’s strategy accepts the need for targeted work and the voluntary sector has an important role to play”.
Recognising new challenges brought about by the Government’s asylum dispersal programme (in total 80% of new HIV infections in Gloucestershire last year were diagnosed in black African people) the awards support a range of work from across the UK as well as targeting women, families and men, both heterosexual and those who are not gay identified but have sex with men.
British HIV Association treatment guidelines continue to recommend that anti-HIV therapy should begin before the CD4 count declines below 200 cells/mm3.
Over the past few years black African men have been particularly unlikely to be diagnosed with HIV infection before their CD4 count reaches this critically important level ( the median CD4 count for black African men at diagnosis is currently 156 cells/mm3).
Competition for the awards was particularly fierce; over fifty applications were received. Edwige Fortier, Policy Advisor to the APPGA and one of the judges said, “These projects demonstrate the hard work that voluntary sector organisations put in to support their communities. The projects are impressive in that they operate at the forefront of HIV, delivering peer support initiatives that will make a significant difference to African people living with HIV and their families.”
The five organisations which each received a £5000 grant to support work they are developing during the next year are:
The Black Health Agency, based in Manchester, who will use the award for the African Women’s Forum. They will provide a range of peer support initiatives at African Women’s Health days in the Greater Manchester area.
GMFA, based in London who will use the award to increase awareness of HIV testing issues for black men who have sex with men who are not accessing gay media. They will place a series of advertisements in the black press.
Gloucestershire AIDS Trust, based in Cheltenham who will recruit an African communities support worker to reach out to African communities in the county.
Widows and Orphans based in East London will be creating a professionally-led group to provide peer support for women, men and young people linked by specific experiences.
RAIN Trust, based in West London who will recruit a team of 5 HIV-positive black African workers to provide culturally appropriate information to pastors and congregations of black majority churches.
Accepting the award on behalf of the RAIN Trust, Thandi Haruperi drew attention to the lack of access to treatment for people with uncertain immigration status in the UK. "As I speak to you today," she said, "there is an HIV-positive woman lying in a London hospital with cancer. She is receiving treatment for the cancer, but because of her uncertain immigration status, HIV treatment is being withheld from her."