Prince Harry’s HIV awareness campaign has led to a spike in ordering at-home HIV self tests.
CREDIT: Facebook Live
Prince Harry‘s campaign to create awareness on the importance of HIV testing has led to a dramatic increase in at-home HIV self test kits ordered from one of the UK’s leading HIV charities, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).
The Prince made global news when he took a HIV test live on Facebook’s Live Platform.
THT launched an innovative pilot offering people the chance to find out their HIV status privately – in their own space, in their own time, on their terms – by taking a HIV self test and getting their results in just 15 minutes.
Over 4750 BioSure kits were sent out by THT before the pilot ended.
Making HIV Tests Accessible
Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director for Terrence Higgins Trust, said,
“We know that one in six people living with HIV do not know that they have it. Testing puts you in control and, thanks to treatment, will stop you from getting seriously ill, enable you to live a normal lifespan and prevent you from passing the virus on to anyone else.
“That’s why it’s so important that we continue looking for new ways to make HIV testing more accessible to those most at risk, and why it’s fantastic to see the very tangible and immediate impact of Prince Harry’s support for HIV testing.”
Orders for the kits came in from across the UK, including Guernsey, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, with the average age of those ordering coming in at 31-years-old.
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Sharing Results.
Half of those who ordered kits from the pilot scheme shared their results with THT, twenty-six of those who order the kits told the charity that they had a positive result. Each of these respondents got a personal call from Terrence Higgins Trust to discuss their result, provide support and ensure that they know how to access HIV care.
Chris, who ordered a kit said,
“The HIV home tests came within a few days and I had my results no longer than 30 minutes after opening the package. The instructions were clear and understandable, with the online step-by-step video explaining even further. Nothing at all could be misunderstood.”
The tests, which are normally £29.95 to buy from BioSure, were provided free of charge during the pilot and funded by Terrence Higgins Trust, but people receiving a test were given the option of making a voluntary donation to fund a test for someone else.
The scheme was made possible thanks to funding from the Terrence Higgins Trust Lighthouse Fund and BioSure.
You can now order self testing kits from Amazon.
