By Jacquie Richardson, CEO of Positive Life - as originally appeared in the Irish News, Wednesday 9 March
Jacquie Richardson, CEO of Positive Life
For 35 years now, Positive Life has been making a difference to the lives of people living or affected by HIV in Northern Ireland as a driving force in research and campaigning.
Later this month we will launch the Northern Ireland Buyers Club at an event hosted by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Kate Nicholl, at Belfast City Hall. The Club is a membership based fundraising project which aims to bring together organisations and like-minded individuals to support the work of Positive Life.
The Buyers Club is a response to the need to modernise Northern Ireland’s attitudes towards HIV, while also contributing to the organisations growth and influence.
HIV is no longer a death sentence, but stigma in Northern Ireland is still prevalent and is life changing. A recent survey commissioned by Positive Life in Northern Ireland which had over 1000 respondents gave a concerning insight into how people view HIV and further highlighted the high level of stigma experienced here.
Over 30% would not approve of a family member dating someone with HIV. While 22% would not approve of someone with HIV looking after their child.
This stigma has a crippling impact on people living with HIV, often leading to mental health issues, family break ups and high levels of internalised shame that remains unaddressed. In the 21st century we should be providing people living with HIV with compassion and support, not stigma, prejudice, and intolerance.
HIV stigma, coupled with the lack of political will to deliver either a HIV Action Plan or Sexual Health Strategy for NI has meant that the support services we offer are needed more than ever. Tackling this issue requires leadership and for those in leading positions to acknowledge its impact, step up, address it, and help create awareness.
It is welcome that the latest statistics published by the Public Health Agency show that there has been a 5% decline in new HIV diagnosis. However sexual health testing has significantly reduced as a result of the pandemic and the number of people in Northern Ireland living with HIV currently sits at over 1200.
This is not generally an attractive cause for supporters with our research showing that financial support for those living with HIV in Northern Ireland has not traditionally been a priority for the public, or private sector organisations when considering charitable donations.
We are hopeful that The Northern Ireland Buyers Club will help us change this by developing new relationships that will help support our world to tackle the stigma surrounding HIV. The funds raised will drive public awareness campaigns to target the challenges of HIV related stigma alongside research and new projects to inform our responses to meet the challenging needs of our service users.
Leading organisations such as Kingsbridge Private Hospital, Phoenix Law and the Institute of Directors are already represented among our Founding members and have come on board to help us in our fight, why don’t you?
To find out more about the Northern Ireland Buyers Club visit www.positivelifeni.com/TheNIBuyersClub. To discuss membership opportunities, contact TheNIBuyersClub@positivelifeni.com.