WHO say all Gay Men should take HIV drugs

The World Health Organisaion (WHO) has said that all gay men should take anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to help prevent the spread of HIV.  Although HIV is higher in gay men than in the homosexual population, it is by no means “all” gay men.  Asking everyone to take strong medication is not the answer.  It is as easy to forget to take your drugs as it is to not wear a condom.

The problem is that all people are becoming more complacent about HIV.  Since HIV no longer means developing AIDS and dying, the condition is more of a lifestyle change than a life risk.  More people are becoming infected with HIV in both the straight and gay communities, and most researchers think that the numbers of new infections are roughly evenly split between the two.  Therefore the problem is not that people who are having unprotected sex are not on ARV’s, but that people are having high-risk unprotected sex.  Education and awareness are the answer.

Many of us see campaigns to help people with HIV, but when was the last time you saw anything warning you on the consequences of unprotected sex?   Was it Chlamydia?  There is more that we can all do to prevent the spread of HIV. Here is what we do:

• Keep our blog and website up to date with the latest HIV news so that you can discuss it with your friends
• Make sure that anyone who is worried about HIV can get tested quickly (from just 10 days post infection) and easily with fast results.
• Work with the Terrence Higgins Trust to prevent new HIV infections
• Work with charities and young people to raise awareness of HIV

If you would like to know more about how you can help raise awareness of preventing HIV please get in touch.