At Notting Hill Carnival this year, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) outreach workers will be joined by staff from the John Hunter Clinic at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to give out 10,000 leaflets inviting carnival goers to a free HIV testing clinic. The team will also give out 10,000 condoms kindly donated by Confident Condoms at the event

The GSK funded Know 4 Sure clinic will offer a free one-hour HIV test at THT's Lighthouse West London centre near Ladbroke Grove the following Saturday 3rd September from 10am to 2pm.

The project aims to encourage more people from African and Caribbean communities to come forward for HIV testing. There are now over 8,600 people living with undiagnosed HIV in London, and over 40% of new HIV diagnoses in London are in the African community.

Adam Wilkinson, Regional Manager for Terrence Higgins Trust's services in London said: "Notting Hill Carnival is a huge amount of fun, but it's also a great opportunity for us to get across serious messages about sexual health. We hope that this special clinic for African and Caribbean communities will encourage people who are worried they may have put themselves at risk to come forward for testing."

THT also offers a free HIV Fastest service every Monday from 6-8pm at Lighthouse West London and every Thursday evening from 5-8pm at Peckham Pulse Leisure Centre in Peckham. For more information see www.tht.org.uk/fastest.

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Notes to editors

• There are now over 8,600 people living with undiagnosed HIV in London, and over 40% of new HIV diagnoses in London are in the African community. Source: The Health Protection Agency, www.hpa.org.uk.
• Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services to over 50,000 people a year. The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual health
• Fastest is an HIV and sexual health testing service run by Terrence Higgins Trust in community settings. The Know 4 Sure Clinic at Ladbroke Grove, is run in conjunction with staff at the John Hunter Clinic.