Africans in the UK

Africans in the UK features

• 

  Tales of the late diagnosed

  Gus Cairns talks to four people who were diagnosed with HIV only just in time to save their lives – and the daughter of one who wasn’t. ...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  Barriers to care: immigration removal centres and HIV

  Evidence has shown that a series of failings in immigration removal centres (IRCs) has compromised the continuity of care for people with HIV. Guest writer Daniel Lombard investigates. ...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  From Kenya to Kennington

  Jackie Ayugi, NAM’s Communities Engagement Officer, reflects on her six months in post, and on the differences – and not-so-differences – between HIV in Kenya and London. ...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  "How can the world accept us if we don't?" Improving testing rates in the UK African community

  HIV testing and late diagnosis rates in the UK African community will not improve unless we look at the wider reasons people don’t test, a community meeting...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  Having a happy, healthy, African new year

  Christmas is traditionally a time of overeating, and New Year a time to think about healthy eating! HTU asked Nutrition Volunteer Tom Dunn and Public Health Nutritionist Anna...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  Faith in the community

  Religious faith is important to many Africans in the UK. Kerri Wells looks at the role religion plays in the lives of HIV-positive African people and the...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  The world next door: Africans and HIV prevention in the UK

  HIV prevention in the UK, its campaigns and images developed for gay men, has had to change in response to a new community with parallel – but...

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  Stigma begins at home

  The stigma attached to having HIV is one of the most all-pervasive aspects of living with the virus. HTU plans a series of articles addressing this complex subject....

  From:  HIV treatment update

• 

  Africans develop AIDS more slowly

  A surprise finding in two recent studies suggests people of African origin are better able to fight CD4 decline, writes Gus Cairns. ...

  From:  HIV treatment update

Africans in the UK in your own words

• 

  Fifteen years on

  'Can I have my children tested?’ I managed to mumble those words. The doctor had just given me my HIV test results; I was positive....

  From:In your own words

• 

  Diagnosed far from home

  I still remember the very cold January morning; I was not listening to the pre-counselling, I thought it did not concern me. I just...

  From:In your own words

• 

  Headaches

  In October 2000 I arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe. I went to live in Bristol with my then partner. Things went okay, and I...

  From:In your own words

• 

  Preventing mother-to-child transmission

  I found out about my HIV status when I was 16 weeks pregnant. After I had an HIV test, I had counselling with the midwife....

  From:In your own words

• 

  Having a baby

  I want my experiences to give hope to other people – things do not have to end when you find out that you have HIV. In...

  From:In your own words

• 

  An emotional rollercoaster

  If someone would have told me that I would be alive 18 years after my HIV diagnosis I would not have believed them. As I...

  From:In your own words

Africans in the UK news from aidsmap

• Steep fall in incidence of TB among HIV-positive heterosexuals in the UK

  Incidence of tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-positive heterosexual people in England and Wales declined significantly between 2002 and 2010, investigators report in the online edition of AIDS. The fall is attributed to changes in the epidemiology of HIV in the ...

  15 January 2013 | Michael Carter

• HPA urges further action on HIV testing to reduce numbers undiagnosed and diagnosed late

  The Health Protection Agency (HPA) issued its annual epidemiological report yesterday, and drew particular attention to the need for improvement in HIV testing rates – six of its eight recommendations concern testing. The headline findings concerning new HIV diagnoses were reported ...

  30 November 2012 | Roger Pebody

• Health Protection Agency reports highest number of HIV diagnoses ever among gay and bisexual men in 2011

  New figures from the Health Protection Agency released today show that although the total number of HIV diagnoses in the United Kingdom fell in 2011, new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men have never been higher, rising by ...

  23 October 2012 | Keith Alcorn

• From today, HIV treatment is free for all who need it in England

  The removal of charges for undocumented migrants and non-UK citizens accessing HIV treatment and care in England comes into effect today. From now on, HIV treatment will be provided free of charge to all who need it, regardless of ...

  01 October 2012 | Roger Pebody

• Large study suggests that more African people are acquiring HIV in the UK than previously thought

  A new approach developed by scientists at the Health Protection Agency indicates that around 31% of African heterosexuals diagnosed with HIV in the UK may have acquired their infection in the UK, as opposed to the 10% indicated by ...

  28 September 2012 | Roger Pebody

• Religious beliefs don't deter HIV testing or use of antiretrovirals among Africans in London

  Religious beliefs do not prevent black Africans living in London from accessing HIV testing or starting antiretroviral therapy, according to a study published in HIV Medicine. The research involved 246 patients who were diagnosed with HIV between 2004 and 2006. ...

  15 August 2012 | Michael Carter

• Black gay men in the UK almost twice as likely to have HIV as white men, meta-analysis shows

  A new analysis of existing studies on the sexual health of black gay men in the UK has found that despite having similar sexual risk behaviours to white gay men, they have almost twice the chance of being HIV-positive. ...

  30 July 2012 | Roger Pebody

• Pregnancy rate among HIV-positive women in the UK has increased significantly

  The pregnancy rate among HIV-positive women in the UK increased significantly between 2000 and 2009, investigators report in the online edition of AIDS. There were rises in incidence of first and repeat pregnancies. Younger age, a higher CD4 cell count ...

  03 July 2012 | Michael Carter

• Financial incentives and motivational interviewing being used to improve adherence in young people

  St Mary’s Hospital in London is testing the use of cash incentives, in combination with motivational interviewing, in an effort to improve the adherence of a small group of HIV-positive young people. The rationale and first ...

  20 April 2012 | Roger Pebody

• Once-a-month HIV drug maintains good levels for prevention; few side-effects so far

  The first trial in humans of an injectable, once-a-month formulation of an HIV drug has found that drug levels were maintained at a level that should in theory be high enough to protect recipients against infection, and that the ...

  07 March 2012 | Gus Cairns

More news

Africans in the UK news selected from other sources

• ECDC meeting report: Responses to HIV and migration in western industrialised countries: current challenges, promising practices, future directions

  The meeting had a special focus on HIV and the public health response relating to the health in migrants: monitoring HIV among migrant populations, as well as migrant-sensitive HIV prevention and treatment programmes and services.

  01 February 2013 | ECDC press release

• Migrants Disproportionately Affected by HIV and AIDS in High-Income Countries, Says International Organization for Migration

  Migrants and mobile populations are at particularly high risk of HIV infection all over the world, as they frequently face marginalization, exclusion and various barriers to accessing health promotion and care. In addition, there is also a lack of awareness of migrants’ vulnerability to HIV in high-income countries.

  03 December 2012 | International Organization for Migration press release

• What African American Communities Can Learn from Africa About Stopping the Spread of HIV

  Awareness is a key factor. Stigma is also a huge issue (for both homosexuals and heterosexuals) that must be broken down through the communities themselves. We must make HIV/AIDS a normal discussion like diabetes or hypertension and bring it to a level where it's comfortable for everyone to talk about it.

  05 October 2012 | Huffington Post

• A commissioning guide on HIV prevention in those from areas of high prevalence, especially African nations

  This guide provides recommendations to increase awareness and engagement of HIV prevention programmes in people from high-risk countries, especially African countries. The primary audience of this guide is NHS commissioners and those who deliver HIV prevention services in clinic or non-clinical settings.

  04 October 2012 | Health Scotland

• Faith leaders across England in 'HIV healing' claims

  Dangerous cases of faith leaders who tell people with HIV to stop taking their life-saving drugs are identified by African-led community groups in England.

  24 September 2012 | BBC Health

• UK: Health service professionals gear up for public consultation on migrant charging regime

  The Department of Health is expected to announce a consultation on NHS charging and ‘overseas visitors’ in the near future.

  14 September 2012 | Migrants' Rights Network

• Migrant patients at risk as Department of Health aims to remove 2.5 million from GP lists by next April

  A report in the health service on-line news magazine, Pulse, sets out concerns that migrants are particularly vulnerable to being purged from GP lists as the DH pushes forward its plans to remove 2.5 million registered patients from the primary healthcare system.

  06 July 2012 | Migrants' Rights Network

• Benefits and Housing in the UK: A guide for refugees living with HIV

  The National Aids Trust has published an up to date factsheet with guidance on benefits and housing for people living with HIV who have refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave to remain in the UK. The fact sheet is targeted at refugees and organisations that support them.

  06 July 2012 | NAT

• New UK guidance points the way to tackling tuberculosis among hard-to-reach groups

  New public health guidance from NICE published today, ahead of World TB day (24 March), provides a blueprint for improving the way tuberculosis (TB) is identified and managed among groups of people who are hard to reach through traditional health care services.

  26 March 2012 | NICE press release

• NAT calls for annual testing recommendation for African men and women

  Recent guidelines from NICE make specific suggestions for when African people should test, such as at the beginning of a new relationship.  However, they do not suggest an annual test for all sexually active Africans – despite this being an explicit recommendation in the parallel guidance for gay men.

  06 March 2012 | NAT press release

More news