January is sometimes described as the most depressing month of the year, with February coming a close second. Here at the Beacon we are so busy that we don’t have time to get depressed.
 
February 24^th is the date of the Brighton Half Marathon, which is our biggest fundraising event of the year, sponsored by many local businesses, with the headline sponsor being the Grand Hotel. The Half is a fantastic occasion, with more than 10,000 runners pounding the Brighton tarmac and thousands more lining the streets to watch them.
 
Some of you are running for us, our thanks to all of you. Some of you will be sponsoring one of our runners. If you are not yet sponsoring a member of the mighty Team Beacon, there’s plenty to find and support on Just Giving.
 
Meanwhile a reminder that there is still much to do in England to prevent HIV infection. A local MP has recently drawn attention to the fact that the trial of PrEP (a drug treatment that prevents people at risk from acquiring the HIV virus) has been limited at 13,000 places and will not be doubled in size now, as was the plan. PrEP is an important part of our prevention strategy and it is available to those who need it on the NHS in other parts of the United Kingdom.
 
We join with our partners in the voluntary sector in asking the Department of Health to consider a full roll-out of PrEP in England, as it is proved to be effective. This will maintain the UK’s impressive record on HIV prevention.