Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, has backed the campaigns of leading domestic and international HIV and
AIDS charities, during National HIV Testing Week and ahead of this year’s World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day, now in its 25th year, is held annually on 1st December and represents a day when activists and people living with HIV from around the world come together in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with the condition and to commemorate the 35million people who have lost their lives.
National HIV Testing Week has run this year from 22nd-29th November, and is supported by a wide range of major public health bodies. This year it coincides with the first ever European HIV Testing Week.
Catherine joined UK, international and student activists at a Stop AIDS campaign event in Parliament to show her support for the UK’s pledge of £1billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria ahead of the upcoming Global Fund replenishment conference in Washington D.C.
The Newcastle North MP also attended an event organised by UK-based charity Terrence Higgins Trust to pledge her support for efforts to halt the spread of HIV during National HIV Testing Week. Last week, Public Health England announced that there are now more than 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK, but one in five of these are undiagnosed and therefore far more likely to pass on the virus.
In 2012, there were 1,881 people living with HIV in the North East.
Speaking after both events, Catherine said:
‘World AIDS Day serves as a vital reminder that, whilst we’ve achieved a lot in terms of the numbers of people now accessing treatment, we’ve still got a long way to go.
‘There are 16million people across the world still not able to access anti-retroviral treatment, and 1.6million people dying of AIDS-related illnesses in 2012 alone. All countries should be following the UK’s example and committing to the Global Fund.
‘It’s also critical that we continue to raise awareness of HIV in the UK, particularly as far too many of those living with HIV in this country are still undiagnosed. HIV testing is fast and simple, and one of the best weapons we have stop the spread of HIV as the vast majority of new infections come from people who don’t yet know they have the virus.’
