Analysis of Prevailing HIV Testing Policy, Principles and Actual Practices

[Guest guest]

Analysis of Prevailing HIV Testing Policy, Principles and Actual

Practices

Greetings from AIDS Healthcare Foundation!

I am enclosing this brief write up with a questionnaire attached for

your kind attention. This is a working paper which will be exploring

HIV counselling and testing practiced in the region and the ongoing

debate on provider initiated testing and counselling within the

context of expanding access to ARV treatment strategies.

We are hoping to receive comments and feedback in the form of reply

to the attached questionnaire from each forum members. We shall

acknowledge all the respondents who will send us the completed

questionnaire to the below address by e-mail or by post.

We request you to send us the completed questionnaire before 20th May

2007. We would be grateful to you all if you could send this

questionnaire across to those who are in the field and face this

situation in a regular basis. We shall also consider questionnaires

reaching till the end of May for the final analysis.

Title: Analysis of Prevailing HIV Testing Policy, Principles and

Actual Practice

Background

HIV counselling and testing is an entry point to prevention,

treatment and care services. However, in the region testing for HIV

is a big challenge and to make inroads into how to increase number of

people coming for HIV counselling and testing raises serious

questions on the existing HIV testing policy. In many developing

countries, epidemiological data on voluntary HIV testing in general

are very low. Even when anti-retroviral treatment is made available,

many do not access to such treatment. According to the current HIV

testing policy in India, HIV test could be provided only when people

volunteer or request for an HIV test. There is a huge gap in actual

policy and what is practiced in reality as it is evident from the

national data on HIV counselling and testing. Therefore, to

understand the ongoing debates and discussions surrounding HIV

counselling and testing strategies in the country, we are preparing a

working paper with the following objectives:

Objectives:

To provide a comprehensive overview of the present HIV testing policy

from the perspectives of key stakeholders

To highlight specific issues on HIV testing policy on VCT/ ICTC and

Provider Initiated Testing and Counselling in selected countries

To understand the importance of HIV counselling and testing to expand

access to ARV treatment and early treatment and support interventions

Methodology

To achieve these objectives, we are compiling the views of different

groups of people living with HIV/AIDS in different regions on HIV

testing policy adopted in principle and what is practiced in reality.

The study includes interviews with programme managers,

representatives from the donor agencies, NGOs, medical community,

FBOs, CBOs. On the basis of this analysis we are hoping to come up

with a set of recommendations that will enable to achieve

comprehensive HIV testing policy and expand access to ARV treatment

and early treatment.

(We would like to get your valuable inputs through email. We have

attached a questionnaire which will take not more than 2 minutes to

answer these questions. We shall be grateful to you if you would like

to share or to be quoted in the working paper, kindly record your

statements in the remark column against any specific question)

Also, the working paper would be based on extensive literature review

from secondary sources.

Therefore, we request you to provide us with secondary sources in the

form of web links, reports, data from the region etc…which can be

extensively quoted for the working paper. We shall acknowledge every

action of yours in the working paper

Scope

This working paper provides enough scope to explore new strategies on

HIV counselling and testing policy to expand access to ARV treatment

and early treatment needed for the people.

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Title: Analysis of Prevailing HIV Testing Policy, Principles and

Actual Practice

Respondent's Name & Organization:

Questionnaire: (Please copy - paste in text format and

say `Yes', `No', `Don't Know' and 'ADD ANY REMARKS TO SPECIFIC

QUESTIONS' send it to us before 20th May 2007)

1 Are you aware of HIV testing policy in your country?

2 Is Voluntary Counseling and Testing [VCT] practiced in your country?

3 According to you, majority of people go for HIV testing by:

a)Voluntary basis OR

b)Referred (Doctors, Nurses, NGOs, Care Homes, etc)

4Who according to you amongst the list of service providers is the

key initiator for HIV Testing at VCT Center:

(a)Government Hospital Doctor

(b)Private Doctor/Hospital

©HIVAIDS NGOs

(d)Healthcare Providers

(e)Friend/Peer

(f)Spouse/Partner

(g)PLHA Network

(h)Outreach work

(i)TB Hospital

(j)Self

5 Do you agree that service providers (See the previous question's

list) are the main initiator for HIV Testing?

6 Do you agree that since the concept of HIV counseling and testing

that most HIV tests are mainly due to referrals from providers?

7 Do you agree that ART treatment increase demand for testing?

8 Do you agree that increase HIV Testing would increase demand for

ART treatment?

9 Do you agree that healthcare provider initiating and referring

patient for HIV counseling and testing is ethical?

10 Do you agree that increase HIV treatment services, more testing

and easy access to care and support reduced stigma and discrimination?

11 Do you agree that positive people, groups, networks should be more

involve in HIV counseling and testing issues?

12 Do you think that government should involve NGO in expanding HIV

Testing services?

13 Do you agree that less invasive testing methods such as saliva

test for HIV be introduce as initial screening method?

14 Do you agree that HIV testing and early diagnosis of HIV status

leads to initiation of prophylaxis, medications for OI's etc. that

improve the quality of life?

15 Do you agree to halt and reverse the HIVAIDS epidemic we need to

scale up HIV Testing?

16 Do you agree that in policy and principle its VOLUNTARY Counseling

and Testing but in practice its Provider Initiated Counseling and

testing?

Note: This tool is developed by AIDS Healthcare Foundation-Asia

Pacific Region. It is currently being used for the Working Paper on

Analysis of Prevailing HIV Testing Policy, Principles and Actual

Practice " . We request you to acknowledge `AHF-Asia Pacific Region' if

the tool is reproduced. Kindly send the completed questionnaire to

chinkholal.thangsin gaidshealth (DOT) org or mahesh.ganesan@ aidshealth.

org

Thanks and regards

Dr Chinkholal Thangsing

Asia Pacific Bureau Chief,

AIDS Healthcare Foundation

S 7 Panchsheel Park,

New Delhi 110017, India

Tel: +91 41745541/41745542

Fax:+91 41745543

Cell:+91 98182 70687

chinkholal.thangsin gaidshealth (DOT) org

www.aidshealth. org

Dr Mahesh Ganesan

Advocacy Coordinator,

AIDS Healthcare Foundation

S 7 Panchsheel Park,

New Delhi 110017, India

Tel: +91 41745541/41745542

Fax:+91 41745543

Cell: +91 9911331998

mahesh.ganesan@ aidshealth. org