HIV Testing and Counseling Services in the WHO African Region
A Survey of the East and Southern Africa Subregion
With technical and normative guidance, countries in East and Southern Africa have developed guidelines and training tools and are scaling up HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) services.
Using a standardized data collection tool, a situation analysis was conducted to determine the status of HTC service provision in the WHO East and Southern sub-region at the end of 2008.
The main conclusions of the assessment were that East and Southern African countries had made significant progress in ensuring HTC services were available and accessible to their citizens. The majority of countries were in the process of standardizing HTC services with the development of guidelines, training materials, training of medical and non-medical personnel with the aim of scaling-up Provider-Initiated Testing and Counselling services. However, there were a number of challenges that needed to be addressed.
The report, which is targeted at countries, United Nations agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and Community-Based Organizations, is expected to contribute to the knowledge base critical for addressing the challenges faced by countries in the sub-region as they mount an effective response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
