“World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, showing their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died.” (worldaidsday.org)
Community Dialogue: Exploring the acceptability and planning for the roll-out of PrEP among men who have sex with men in Singapore.
Come down to say hi to our Pink Carpet Team from 10 pm-1 am on Sept 10, Duxton Road.
HIV and STIs remain high among the younger gay boys – a passionate moment might turn into sleepless nights, wondering if he was ‘clean’ or not. To combat this worry, condoms were invented as a protective measure with 99.99% being effective when used correctly.
The skin doctor, who in 1988 founded the charity Action for Aids, was yesterday lauded by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at an annual awards ceremony that recognised the contributions of healthcare professionals for their work in the field.
Younger people with HIV face a unique set of problems, from the stigma of having the disease to not having the emotional maturity to deal with it
‘Society makes it very hard to be a queer youth. I think it’s really important to understand the healing and transformative power of being a part of a supportive community. When we join together as allies and take a stand against hate and share our lives, it forms a whole that is greater than sum of its individual parts.’
So here’s the truth. You may not want HIV, but if you have it, it’s much better to know you are HIV-positive so you can seek treatment and get back to living a happy, healthy, tra-la-la life.
PrEP doesn’t legitimise dangerous or unsafe sex; it serves as a protection which those who are sexually active in the gay community would be foolish to refuse if offered to them.
It’s not those on PrEP who are the foolhardy risk takers – it’s the ones who deny their risk and disassociate themselves from these conversations who are taking the real chances. It just takes one time, that one slip up, to change your life forever.
Recently the finger has been turned to point to certain drugs such as mephedrone and the emergence of smartphone apps such as Grindr that make it easier for people to hook up – the powerful combination of stronger, cheaper stimulants and the means to contact a lot of “up-for-it” men in a short period of time.