Reducing the stigma of HIV in partnership with people of African and Caribbean heritage

A new project from HIV charity Brigstowe will look at reducing stigma and increasing testing with people of African and Caribbean heritage.

Launching in early February 2021, Common Ambition will empower Bristol’s community of people with African and Caribbean heritage to increase their overall health and wellbeing through open, honest and culturally appropriate dialogue and interventions.

Working in partnership with health care professionals, African Voices Forum and academics to increase HIV testing and awareness and reduce HIV stigma, the project will be coordinated by Aisha Namurach.

“The inequalities within health in the UK based on heritage are evident, particularly within sexual health,” says Aisha, who hopes to put communities at the heart of the three-year-long project.

“We know that people from African and Caribbean heritage backgrounds are rarely consulted when it comes to deciding the best type of interventions for their community and therefore have been left behind in the encouraging advances made in the field of HIV and sexual health.”

African Voices Forum, Unity and the University of Bristol have supported the Common Ambition, which is being overseen by Brigstowe, and £500,000 of funding has been put towards the project by the Health Foundation.

Brigstowe is supporting the project. Photo: Brigstowe

Aisha, who was working on a similar project in Brighton, is keen to repeat the successes had in the coastal city in Bristol.

“I have and always will be very passionate about addressing inequality within my community. Being of African descent in the UK I have my own experiences and educations around sexual health, and I am all too aware that throughout the diaspora the experiences of our people vary significantly,” says Aisha.

“I am privileged enough to have grown in a world where sexual health education and access to services mean that I can be as inspired as I am to do the job that I am doing in addressing inequalities.

“This passion enables me to empower others to take the steps needed towards addressing those inequalities, both for themselves and their community.”

Aisha Namurach will coordinate Common Ambition. Photo: Aisha Namurach

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the early stages of the project have begun to be implemented. Collaboration will be instigated online for the time being, with an official community launch on Tuesday, February 2 at 4.30pm. This celebratory event will be a chance for people in Bristol to learn more about the project and how they can get involved.

“This project’s success relies heavily on input and collaboration with the communities we aim to serve and as such there will be various opportunities, both paid and voluntary, to be part of the project over the next few years,” says Aisha.

“We need to address these inequalities in an informed, collaborative and engaging way. That is what Common Ambition Bristol aims to do. To put our community at the heart of the work done for us, by us.”

Main photo: Brigstowe

Read more: Eradicating the stigma that people with HIV face