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It Starts With Me

News |
The next phase of the It Starts With Me campaign focuses on raising awareness of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Black African communities.

Despite only making up 1.8% of the British population, Black Africans are over-represented in the rates of new HIV diagnoses every year. The latest figures showed that they constituted 44% of all new heterosexual HIV cases (PHE, 2019), so this is a population that stands to benefit from PrEP.

The It Starts With Me 2019 campaign evaluation (conducted online) found that just 53% (124/234) of Black Africans had heard about PrEP before, compared to 84% (465/554) of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM).

Despite the low knowledge of PrEP, once Black Africans know what it is and how it works, many say that they would be willing to take PrEP under certain circumstances. The campaign will look to build and enhance this knowledge while helping address inequalities and stigma impacting the Black African community in England.

The campaign will look to build and enhance this knowledge while helping address inequalities and stigma impacting the Black African community in England:

  • What PrEP is
  • Who it is for
  • Why to take it
  • How it can be accessed

Key Campaign Messages

  • PrEP is a pill which prevents HIV and is very effective. PrEP is taken by HIV-negative people
  • PrEP puts you in control. It’s discreet, you don’t have to rely on your partner’s decisions to protect yourself against HIV.

The campaign will provide information on how to access PrEP based on the options available during the promotion period.

Read more about PrEP