New poster campaign warns young people of risk of HIV

In the lead up to World AIDS Day the Health Promotion Agency has produced a poster warning young people that HIV hasn't gone away as it currently affects 342 people in Northern Ireland.

The poster forms part of the Agency's public information campaign that promotes safer sexual health and promotes condom use. Complacency about the infection is a major threat to sexual health and this poster has been designed in an effort to highlight this fact to young people.

Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the Health Promotion Agency, said: "Statistics show that a record 42 million people around the world are living with HIV or AIDS. The latest figures show that HIV continues to pose a major challenge to public health.

"Most worryingly is the fact that half of new infections diagnosed are occurring in young people aged between 15-24 years. During the 1980s the disease was brought to public attention through a number of hard-hitting mass media campaigns, however, young people who are becoming sexually active now would not have been born at that time so they have missed out on the seriousness of the issue."

In Northern Ireland the main form of transmission of the virus is through sexual intercourse between men, with around one in five cases being transmitted through sexual intercourse between men and women. Global statistics show that women are becoming infected in far greater numbers than men, with women over 15 years of age constituting almost 45% of all newly reported AIDS cases world wide, making them the fastest growing group to be diagnosed.

Dr Gaffney continued: "Research shows that unsafe sex is on the increase.It is vital therefore that we provide clear, factual information so people are well informed and ensure their sexual behaviour does not put their health or life at risk. The mainstay of tackling HIV and AIDS is prevention, so the message is simple, don't be complacent - protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, by using a condom."

The poster promotes the AIDS Helpline (NI) which is a free phone number: 0800 137437 as well as the services of the four Genito Urinary Medicine (GUM) Clinics in Northern Ireland, which are happy to provide information and advice as well as providing checkups and treatment.

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Notes to the editor: Global statistics provided by National AIDS Trust taken from UNAIDS, 2002, www.nat.org.uk

Local figures provided by the GUM clinic, Royal Victoria Hospital as of 30 September 2002.