Today UCD SU has released the first in a new series of educational videos in collaboration with the MPOWER programme to educate students about HIV and U=U, Undetectable=Untransmittable.

What does Undetectable=Untransmittable mean? In the teaser video released today, we hear from former UCDSU President Conor Anderson who shares with Adam Shanley, MPOWER programme Manager, the fact that due to his HIV treatment, his viral load is undetectable therefore making it untransmittable by him.

UCD is the largest university in Ireland meaning that UCD SU supports and communicates to a student body of over 30 thousand people.

https://twitter.com/UCDSU/status/1427245736475889664?s=20

The MPOWER Programme at HIV Ireland is a suite of peer-driven community-level interventions which aim to achieve a reduction in the acquisition of HIV and STIs and an overall improvement of sexual health and wellbeing among gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men (gbMSM).

At a recent GCN & HIV Ireland event for Irish AIDS Day, Bruce Richman, founder of the US-based Prevention Access Campaign discussed different ways in which messaging around HIV prevention and stigma could be used to bring an end to HIV and related stigma in the next ten years.

He spoke specifically about the U equals U – Undetectable equals Untransmittable – campaign pioneered by PAC on a global scale to educate people that “if you are living with HIV, on effective medication and have achieved suppression of the virus in the body, you cannot pass on HIV.”

Adam Shanley from MPOWER advises that one thing people can do is spark a conversation about U equals U and share that new knowledge.

Undetectable=Untransmittable

Spark a conversation, what have you learnt? Pass it on.@HIVIreland
#MPOWER Service

What is U=U? – https://t.co/y30i2ND7IC pic.twitter.com/kvMK8EiXqR

— UCD Students' Union (@UCDSU) August 16, 2021

HIV Activist Robbie Lawlor recently appeared on national TV spreading the U equals U message and discussed with Tommy Tiernan how people’s unawareness in terms of U=U comes from a lack of education and how this is leading to rising rates of infection in the country.

“HIV rates have never been higher in Ireland than they are today. We get around 500 new diagnoses per year. We’re one of the highest in Europe actually per rate of diagnoses,” he said.

Find out more online here.

For more information visit HIV Ireland’s website and for information on testing click here.