Up to 97% of people living with HIV in Northern Ireland are undetectable, meaning none of those individuals can pass the virus on to their sexual partners. This crucial fact is at the heart of a new public health campaign launched by LGBTQIA+ organisation The Rainbow Project, ahead of Belfast Pride on July 25.
The 'Catch Urself Up' campaign aims to improve society's understanding of living with HIV today, delivering the clear message that U = U – Undetectable = Untransmissible. It is particularly groundbreaking for Northern Ireland, where no HIV-specific public health campaigns have been run since the original epidemic in the late 80s and early 90s.
What Does Undetectable HIV Mean?
An HIV-positive person becomes undetectable when, through effective treatment known as 'Anti-Retroviral Therapy' or 'ART', their viral load drops so low that it cannot be transmitted to sexual partners. The campaign shines a spotlight on this medical reality.
Scott Cuthbertson, CEO of The Rainbow Project, said: "We know that in silence, misinformation, discrimination and stigma about HIV thrives. Significant progress has been made on the treatment and prevention of HIV, however society's understanding of it has changed very little since the initial epidemic in the 80s and 90s."
Fighting Stigma with Facts
Cuthbertson emphasised the need for up-to-date information: "To fight stigma, we must learn the facts about HIV; what living with HIV is like today, how it's transmitted, how it's prevented, how it's treated, and importantly, that undetectable HIV cannot be passed on. The lack of up-to-date information and knowledge on HIV impacts everyone, whether you are living with a diagnosis or not."
The campaign encourages everyone to 'Catch Urself Up' on 'U = U', to send a message that those living with HIV can live long, happy, healthy lives, and ultimately to reduce new transmissions of HIV to zero by 2030.
HIV in Northern Ireland: Recent Figures
In recent years, substantial advances have been made in expanding testing and support for diagnosing and preventing the further spread of HIV, while also helping individuals who have tested positive. The latest publicly available figures show that, in 2023, there were 101 new HIV diagnoses in Northern Ireland. Of these, 47 were people first diagnosed in Northern Ireland, while 54 had previously been diagnosed overseas. According to these figures, the most frequent route of transmission for new HIV diagnoses is through heterosexual contact (58%).
With the introduction over recent years of PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) to lower your risk of contracting HIV up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) that when taken correctly can virtually eliminate your risk of contracting HIV, and the implementation of effective public health messaging around Undetectable HIV, there is a genuine possibility of achieving the UK's target of ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.
