Malawi and Tanzania launch national "provided-initiated" HIV screening:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The government of Malawi is calling on the sexually-active of its population to test for HIV. The move is in response to an acknowledged lack of control of the disease and a need for better data to support prevention planning. Estimates put national prevalence at around 14% of the country's 12 million population; only 15% of the country's six million sexually-active population are thought to know their HIV status. The programme will also adopt guidance issued recently by the WHO on conducting "provider-initiated" voluntary testing, from which the patient has to actively opt out (see Clinica No 1259, p 9). Around 80% of people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are unaware of being infected, the WHO estimates. Tanzania, too, has just launched a national HIV-testing programme based on this guidance, Clinica understands.