Describe what you do day to day?
My role involves the development of BHA’s sexual health services and management of our projects across Greater Manchester, Leeds, Wakefield and Liverpool. Our prevention services deliver activities and campaigns to raise awareness on maintaining good sexual health and provide community-based testing for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, LGBTQ and other groups who may be at increased risk or face additional challenges in accessing other health services. Our HIV support projects deliver essential support services for people living with or affected by HIV and aim to support people to improve and maintain health and well-being. A large part of the work that we do is aimed at challenging and reducing the stigma associated with sexual health and, living with HIV.
Fulfilling aspect of the role:
I enjoy working with our energetic and creative sexual health teams and working in partnership with a wide range of people and organisations. I like having the opportunity within BHA to innovate and develop or adapt services so that they can be accessed and support a wide range of people and pilot new ideas.
Greatest achievements?
There’s a big sense of achievement when we launch and develop a new service, and it’s always great to develop new partnerships with people we haven’t worked with before, but there’s nothing more fulfilling than when we hear from our service users that our services have been valuable or made a difference to their health and well-being.
Challenges?
I think our teams always want to go that extra mile, they have so many good ideas and not being able to fulfil them due to capacity or funding restrictions can be frustrating at times.
Coming up?
The government has made a commitment to ending all new cases of HIV by 2030 and we are working with our local and national partners to achieve this, ensuring that no communities are left behind in reaching this ambition.