Prince Harry has vowed to continue his motherPrincess Diana’s unfinished HIV work. The late Princess changed the global perception ofHIVand AIDS by consistently raising awareness of the condition. Many will remember during the 1980's, when the world still believed the disease could be contracted through casual contact, she held the hand of a man who had AIDS. Following in her footsteps, in an in-depth video to mark National Testing Week, The Duke of Sussex urged UK citizens to 'go and get a test' for the illness.
When asked what made him so passionate about advocating for HIV, Harry explained, 'Once you get to meet people and you see the suffering around the world, I certainly can’t turn my back on that. Then add in the fact that my mum’s work was unfinished, I feel obligated to try and continue that as much as possible.'
He continued, ‘I could never fill her shoes, especially in this particular space, but because of what she did and what she stood for and how vocal she was about this issue… it’s a converging of all these different pieces. There’s a way out of it, and if there’s a way out of it and we know there’s a solution, I’m a typical guy and I just want to help fix things.'
MP Maria Caulfied echoed his sentiments and posted a video on Twitter encouraging people to have a check-up. In the video she explained she had just got a test for the virus and said it was 'quick and easy to do so.' She noted that 'viruses don't discriminate - anyone can get HIV' and added that treatments for it in the case of a positive result were 'excellent.'
But despite the compelling video and evidence, many users commented on her tweet spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus vaccines and misinformation about the ways in which HIV is transmitted:
In response to the onslaught of abuse and misinformation she received Maria tweeted, 'Do people really believe this nonsense? I give up.' Some of the replies to her initial HIV video are very worrying and proves the lack of knowledge on treatments and transmissions.
In 2021 National Aids Trust carried out a poll to further understand the UK’s attitude to HIV. There are believed to be around 105,000 people living with HIV in the UK - two thirds of them are men - and the vast majority of them are diagnosed. The study found that stigma, discrimination, and lack of understanding about HIV still persist 40 years after first reported case.
Professor Jane Anderson CBE, Consultant Physician in HIV Medicine at Homerton University Hospital and Barts Health NHS Trust, said on the outcome of the study, 'Even after 40 years of HIV, we still have a big problem with the public’s knowledge and attitudes. She continued, 'Depressingly, many people still do not know about HIV, are confused by how it’s passed on and are unaware that people taking effective HIV treatment cannot pass on the virus. People do not think enough about their sexual health, which means they are not testing regularly for HIV. Sadly, many people have deeply entrenched stigmatising views about HIV either because they do not know enough about HIV or for reasons that link to sexual orientation, gender or race.'
If anything, the comments and abuse Maria has suffered from speaking out about HIV testing proves that Prince Harry must continue Diana’s work. There is clearly a dominant negative stigma attached to HIV globally, and more needs to be done to tackle this. In a time of increasing misinformation online, now more than ever do we need an advocate who has a large platform to continue to tackle these myths.
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