According to figures from the University of Otago AIDS Epidemiology Group, last year HIV diagnoses in New Zealand had dropped by 30% from the average level they had been between 2016 and 2020.
In 2018, Pharmac begun funding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication in New Zealand, which is a daily pill that’s 99% effective at preventing HIV.
Despite these advances, a lot of stigma and misinformation still exists.
Re: News spoke to HIV advocate Kit Harding about how he felt when he was diagnosed and how he has used his diagnosis to educate New Zealanders.
You can watch the full interview on TVNZ+ now.
What is HIV?
Kit: HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.
It’s a virus that attacks your immune system, and left untreated it will destroy someone’s immune system to zero and that’s when AIDS comes into play.
How did you find out about your diagnosis?
Kit: I was young and single. I had been in a relationship for five years that I had just gotten out of, and I had a flurry of activity where I was on the apps in Nelson for about four months.
I was first diagnosed through a regular sexual health screening.
HIV wasn’t on my mind as something possible, though I am a gay man so it was something I was aware of.
But I didn’t think it would be a positive result.
How did you feel about your result?
Kit: To start with, it was challenging to get over that self-stigma, that self-isolation.
You know, I had feelings of I’d done this to myself. I’d caused this, I didn’t deserve to be happy.
The biggest feeling was that I was dirty, that I was shameful and that I had done this to myself.
For about a year or two, I lived a pretty celibate life, fear of rejection and the fear of being ostracised by the person I would disclose to.
How has it affected your dating life?
Kit: It creates another barrier, you have to go through all the hoops of dating anyway, and you start to get to know someone and you’re not going to tell them straight away, it creates this point where you trust someone, so the risk is a lot higher for that person to disappear.
What does HIV testing look like?
Kit: There’s rapid testing that’s done onsite at the Burnett Foundation or Body Positive or Positive Women in Auckland and it’s a blood test with a [finger] prick and you get a result within 15 minutes.
There is an at-home testing kit that can be sent out to you at home, it’s like a Covid antigen test.
Then there’s also the phlebotomy test which can be done through your sexual health clinic.
What does the treatment for HIV look like in New Zealand?
Kit: In New Zealand we’re lucky we have effective treatment.
Treatment in New Zealand means if you take medication, you can develop what we call an undetectable viral load, which means you can’t detect HIV from a simple test.
When you have an undetectable viral load, two things happen, which are number one, HIV isn’t destroying your immune system and number two, you can’t pass the virus on as you are undetectable, which means untransmitable.
Do you have to disclose your results to every sexual partner?
Kit: In New Zealand we operate under a thing called reasonable precautions. The case law in New Zealand means wearing a condom, and if you don’t take the precaution then you have to disclose it.
What’s the biggest stereotype or misconception about HIV?
Kit: In healthcare environments, I’ve had doctors and nurses who put on two pairs of gloves when taking blood.
Before Covid, I would have people put on face masks when they would realise what I was there for.
The saliva misconception is a big one because you would have to ingest five litres of someone’s saliva to catch HIV.
What’s one thing you wish everyone in New Zealand knew about HIV?
Kit: I think if everyone knew and believed undetectable equals untransmittable then all the stigmas wouldn’t exist because any rational person, if they knew that a virus was untransmitable, wouldn’t react the way most people do to HIV.
How can wider New Zealand help to end HIV transmissions?
Kit: Reducing stigma is key to getting to a point where we don’t have HIV circulating in New Zealand.
How has having HIV changed you as a person?
Kit: For me, it has allowed me to be more understanding of people. It’s really opened my world and made me into a better person.