Keir Starmer has become the first serving Prime Minister and G7 leader to publicly get tested for HIV, something he said would hopefully help tackle stigma around people knowing their status.
In support of National HIV Testing Week (which runs from 10-16 February), he did a rapid home test at Downing Street, an option that is available for free to the public during this period.
“We need to get the message out because I don’t think people necessarily know who’s most at risk,” he told Gay Star News during an exclusive interview shortly after doing the test. “Therefore, they don’t think they’re at risk, [and] they wouldn’t necessarily get tested.”
The Prime Minister added that he sees “two problems” surrounding HIV testing at present: “One is the stigma of, ‘I don’t want to know.’
“The other is the sort of complacency and, I suppose, ‘I don’t need to know.’
“Both of those need to be tackled at every level, and if that can be tackled on a preventative level, really good, but in any event, testing is needed.
“And that’s why, whoever you are, having a test is really simple, really easy, and everybody should get it done.”
Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows that Gay, Bisexual and other men who have sex with men are getting tested at higher rates than their heterosexual counterparts, with the aforementioned group seeing a 34% increase in testing between 2019 and 2023.
It also shows there are still major barriers stopping people from accessing preventative tools, such as the HIV prevention drug PrEP, because of geographical disparities.
In fact, research conducted by National AIDS Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust, PrEPster, Sophia Forum and One Voice Network found that two thirds (65%) of people wanting to access PrEP are unable to do so.
Responding to these issues, the Prime Minister said “all of these inequalities need to go.”
“We can’t carry on with health inequalities,” he told Gay Star News. “So, we‘d have to work through and we have to make sure that what needs to be available is available, whether you live in London, or whether you live somewhere else. Wherever you are across the country should make no difference.
“And that has to be part of the plan for dealing with inequality in health. yes, that’s important in HIV, but it’s important in so many other areas because, wherever the disproportionate impact, either geographically, or within different communities, it’s not just something specific on HIV. These are common patterns that we need to tackle.”
HIV testing plays an essential role in ending new cases of the virus in England by 2030, which the government has committed to making a reality.
“England can be the first country in the world to end new HIV transmissions, but we are not on track to do so by 2030,” said Richard Angell, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust.
“Scaling up HIV testing will be crucial to our shared goal. We are delighted that Keir Starmer is leading from the front in this mission.”
In its manifesto last year, Labour pledged to introduce a new HIV Action Plan to get the country on track to ending new cases by 2030, which is expected to be released later this year.
Find more information about National HIV Testing Week, including where you can order a free test, here.
