At Liberate, we provide all our employees with a free HIV test. We do it, not because we are an especially high risk group, but because it is the responsible thing to do.

To know whether or not you are HIV positive is important not just for your own health, but also for the health of others; and, those others don’t just include your immediate partner. If we are to eradicate HIV globally, we need to stop it spreading and that starts with every one of us doing the responsible thing.

HIV is a treatable condition these days, and the sooner you start treatment, the better the outcome. With the right treatment HIV positive people can live long and happy lives. Left untreated HIV will, over time, develop into AIDS, when a person’s immune system is so weak it can no longer fight off a range of diseases with which it would normally cope.

HIV treatment keeps the virus under control by stopping it from reproducing itself. The goal is to keep levels of HIV so low that in tests the person has an undetectable viral load. Crucially, if someone with HIV is on effective treatment and has an undetectable viral load they cannot pass on HIV.

So, what are you waiting for? Getting tested for HIV couldn’t be easier. Prince Harry recently took an HIV test live on camera:

He did it through a GP, but you can do it like we do at Liberate with a home testing kit (rrp £29.95): https://hivselftest.co.uk/ (Don’t miss the special offer on the banner at the top of the page if you are purchasing a kit for you and your partner!)

To find out more about HIV and AIDS and the importance of getting tested, watch the BBC’s recent documentary “The Truth About HIV”: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05p5v5f or visit the Terrence Higgins Trust website: http://www.tht.org.uk/sexual-health/About-HIV

If you are living with HIV/AIDS or have just been diagnosed in Jersey, you can get support through your GP and the States of Jersey Health Department. There is also useful information on the global AVERT website (https://www.avert.org/). If you are under 21, you can also talk to either Brook Jersey (https://www.brook.org.uk/find-a-service/regions/jersey) or Love Matters (http://www.love-matters.co.uk/Love_Matters/About_Us.html).