Free HIV testing available across Norfolk as part of national testing week
Norfolk County Council is encouraging residents to get tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) during this year's national testing week.
Working alongside the county's GPs, community pharmacies and charities such as the Terrence Higgins Trust, the council is raising awareness of the importance of regular testing.
This is in a bid to help reduce the number of undiagnosed HIV cases and those who are diagnosed too late as part of the national testing week from next Monday to Sunday.
Between 2021 and 2023, more than 40% of people aged 14 and over were given a late diagnosis of HIV. A late diagnosis means they have tested positive once the infection had damaged their bodies.
Despite an overall low prevalence of diagnosed HIV among people aged 15-59 years at the county level, the rate in Norwich city has remained high - above two in every 1,000 people - in the last decade and Great Yarmouth's HIV prevalence rate has been rising steadily since 2011.
Cllr Fran Whymark, cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said: “HIV testing is an important step in maintaining your health and the health of your community. Testing is simple, confidential, and quick, with results available within minutes.
“If you test positive, help is here for you, and I want you to feel reassured that we will provide the resources and support you need to help you through this difficult time.
“We are working with the Terrence Higgins Trust and GPs across the county to ensure more people get speedier HIV testing and results.
“I would urge you to order a test kit online at www.freetesting.hiv or find testing facilities near you this national HIV testing week."
Rebecca Mbewe, an author and speaker living with HIV, said: “Testing for HIV can feel scary, but not knowing is scarier. If you do have a positive result, you won’t be on your own.
“As a person with lived experience of HIV for close to 30 years, I am still able to do anything and everything that I like. I still have my glass of gin and tonic. I can still go out and dance.
“Thanks to free, effective medication, I have a full life, I can’t pass it on, and I have a normal life expectancy.
“Every time I have a birthday I love telling people my age. It is a statement. It is a celebration.”
Takudzwa Mukiwa, head of HIV Prevention at Terrence Higgins Trust, added: "Getting tested for HIV is quick, easy, free and confidential. You can order a test kit now and do it from the comfort of your home at a time that works for you."
