A Grindr message has reminded app users across the UK to get tested for HIV, as new polling by YouGov has found that more than 80% of British adults are unaware it is possible to test for HIV at home. When prompted as an option, at home testing was the most popular way to test for HIV.
The testing push coincides with National HIV Testing Week in England. England’s National HIV Testing Week is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and delivered by Terrence Higgins Trust on behalf of HIV Prevention England to encourage people to get tested. The Grindr message is sent UK wide, so users in Wales will also be reminded to test. Everyone in Wales can access free HIV and STI testing year-round.
The Welsh Government has a number of initiatives to provide free, discreet and confidential testing for anyone who wants it. Sexual Health Wales provides a free test kit for chlamydia and gonorrhoea plus HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. You can use these kits in your own home and then post it to the laboratory in the pre-paid envelope.
To reach the target of ending new HIV cases in Wales by 2030, it will be crucial to find everyone living with undiagnosed HIV and ensure they are accessing life-saving treatment. To do this, we must scale up HIV testing across the country. Although HIV testing in Wales was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, testing rates have steadily increased since. Public Health Wales reports that, when combining lab tests and home testing, 113,097 people were tested for HIV in 2023, a 12.8% increase on 2022. Of this number, home testing accounted for 21.4% of people accessing a HIV test. Across the UK, we must increase awareness of the option to test at home to increase HIV testing rates.
Testing is free and confidential. It’s also the only way to know if you have HIV and worth doing because people can live with HIV for a long time without any symptoms. If you are HIV negative, you can use protection such as PrEP or condoms to stay negative. If you are HIV positive, you can access free treatment and live a long and healthy life — people on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on to partners.
Find out more about HIV testing in Wales here.
