Zimbabwe will from March roll out an HIV self-testing pilot project to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of self-testing among the populace in a programme that will also be undertaken in Malawi, Zambia and later in South Africa.
Speaking at a media forum on HIV test kits held in Harare on Monday, the Ministry of Health and Child Care National HIV/AIDS’ national co-ordinator, Gertrude Ncube, said the second phase would see the distribution of more than one million test kits in Zimbabwe.
The project, the first phase of which would take two years, was aimed at increasing the number of people in the country who know their HIV status and increase the effective use of self-testing kits.
Ncube said the project would pilot the distribution of 742,922 HIVOFT in the three countries, 359,190 of which will be in Zimbabwe, and also assess distribution models and test demand creation models.
“Phase 1 will answer key questions required by policy and decision-makers before HIV Self Testing scale-up can be considered. It will also assess distribution models and test Demand Creation models and generate multi-country public health evidence to inform interim WHO guidance,” she said.
She said phase two would be to evaluate the optimal HIVST distribution models, scale up HIV Testing through different distribution models and distribute 1,069,810 in Zimbabwe over two years.
Government, Ncube said, would support market entry for new manufacturers interested in pursuing WHO pre-qualification.
She said the project had the potential to increase access to HIV testing and reach those who may not test, while providing convenience, autonomy and privacy for users.
Under the conventional testing methods through health facilities, 36 percent of men and 57 percent women in the age group 15 to 49 years have been tested.
“Self-testing is testing self in a confidential environment and is different from the conventional testing that we have been doing with people getting into health facilities and getting tested. So this has got an advantage of saying those who are getting tested will not be afraid of having someone know their status.
“They will be able to test themselves and interpret the results on their own,” she said
She said self-testing would also help reduce the number of people visiting health facilities for testing and was cost effective.
Ncube, however, noted that there was the potential danger that users could fail to interpret the results correctly, while the programme was also likely to lead to inter-partner violence or coerced testing of vulnerable populations.
“There could also be misuse of the test kits or justification to engage in risky behavior and improper disposal of the HIV testing materials. The self-testing can also lead to psycho-social distress which may lead to self harm or even suicide,” she cautioned.
Australia, the United Kingdom, Kenya and Hong Kong have legalised self-testing, while in South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Russia and China, self-testing is done informally.
Studies in Malawi, Ncube said, had revealed that men were forthcoming in testing themselves.
The Population Services International (PSI) will lead the programme and will work together with the WHO, the University College London (UCL), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and CESSHAR Zimbabwe, a local research organisation.
– African News Agency (ANA)
