Stifling stigma was the theme of the day at the University of Manchester as Gareth Thomas kicked off his Tackle HIV Bus Tour in style.

Tackle HIV is a public awareness and education initiative, led by Welsh rugby icon Thomas in partnership with ViiV Healthcare and Terrence Higgins Trust, that aims to change public perceptions and tackle misunderstanding and stigma related to HIV.

The campaign was first founded by Thomas in 2020, inspired by his own experience as someone living with HIV and the public misconceptions surrounding the virus.

Offering crucial advice and information to students at Manchester’s freshers fair, Thomas received a very warm welcome and felt that there was no better place for the Tackle Tour Bus to kick off its journey.

“There's loads of cities with loads of great universities, but I just feel that when we look back on the outcome of today, it just feels like everything was right,” Thomas said.

“We could have gone somewhere else, we could have tried somewhere else. This is where we ended up and we not only made the most of it, but actually the students have also made the most of it. 

“The first day of the bus tour has done a lot for busting the myths and the stigma around HIV and educating. 

“Also, a lot of people have gone away with tests. People will be testing, knowing their status. It's really done a lot for us and also the new freshers in this university.”

The first of a three-stop tour of universities, the Tackle HIV team will bring their bus to Cardiff next week before finishing in Durham.

They will also complete the Pen y Fan challenge on September 27, with Thomas climbing the highest peak in South Wales ten times in the space of 24 hours - a feat equivalent to scaling Mount Everest.

All is done in the name of breaking down the stigma that surrounds HIV, which is quickly proving a greater killer than the virus itself.

“It's really important that we constantly keep giving people the relevant information because stigma is created through the lack of knowledge or the lack of proper information that people have,” Thomas added. 

“It's important that we understand that science and medicine has come so far. There is no need for it to be a stigmatised condition, yet if people don't know how far science and medicine have come, then they'll still think that it's a virus that you can transmit through sharing a knife and fork, or sitting on the same toilet seat, or giving somebody a kiss.

“It's only when you tell people and when people have the information that our stigma is smashed and broken down. 

“It's really important that we constantly keep delivering this message because the more we deliver the message, then the more people will listen, the more people will hear, the more stigma gets broken down. 

“A lot of people look at HIV as a subject that we shouldn't talk about, when it's really a subject that a lot of us, with the right information, are able to celebrate.”

Tackle HIV also stresses the importance of testing as the UK strives to become the first country in the world to stop any new cases of HIV transmission by 2030.

Part of Thomas’ trip to Manchester has involved visiting local hospitals where the ‘opt out’ scheme - which tests for HIV as part of a routine blood test - now operates in four of the city’s medical centres. 

“Know your status,” he said. “The reality of this bus being here is to give people the opportunity to be able to test and be able to know their status.

“By knowing their status, we will help them to start effective treatment if their status is positive. If negative, continue being safe in the way they are.”

Tackle HIV is a campaign led by Gareth Thomas in partnership with ViiV Healthcare and Terrence Higgins Trust and aims to tackle the stigma and misunderstanding around HIV. For more information visit tacklehiv.org and follow @tacklehiv