Prince Harry toured a sexual health clinic in London yesterday and took an HIV test in front of the cameras in an effort to raise awareness about the condition and encourage others to get checked out.
The 31-year-old has made raising awareness about HIV and Aids a major element of his public work. He underwent a simple finger-prick procedure, and within a minute his results were available, showing he had tested negative.
On the film Harry said everyone should get checked to avoid stigma surrounding taking the test;
“So whether you are a man, woman, gay, straight, black, white, whatever, or even ginger – why wouldn’t you come and have a test?”
Ian Green, the chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, the largest voluntary sector provider of HIV services in the UK, described it as a “groundbreaking moment in the fight against HIV” that would help normalise testing and inspire a new generation to take control of their sexual health.
Australia has been less successful than other developed countries at preventing new HIV infections, with no decline in the number of transmissions for the past decade. But with the goal of ending new HIV infections by 2020, signed up to by every Australian state and territory minister, public awareness campaigns such as this one will play an important role in the future battle against the virus.
Watch the video of Prince Harry’s test.
