HIV testing

ICW observes with alarm the UN’s plan to dramatically scale up HIV testing. Not only is there a danger that such a strategy, particularly if tests are opt out, service provider initiated, will take the control from women and men to decide and prepare themselves for tests and for results, but there are also many current concerns with testing that have not been addressed and will only be exacerbated with scale-up. Although we recognise that knowing one’s status can sometimes enable us to better protect our health and that of our partners we have a number of fears, described below, with planned and current testing practice.

14:25:29 EDT Aug 16, 2006
Canadian Press: SHERYL UBELACKER

TORONTO (CP) - A recurring theme at the International AIDS conference this week has been the issue of HIV testing - a tool many say should be ramped up in AIDS-ravaged countries to keep the disease from spreading. But others - among them, former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson - are preaching caution about widespread testing programs, saying the fallout from receiving an HIV-positive result can be devastating in countless ways, especially for women in developing countries.

Press release - There is a growing and alarming trend by health service providers around the world to routinely test for HIV unless people say no. At the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto policy-makers will be talking about opt-out and opt-in testing. Some countries are calling for a dramatic increase in opt-out testing. This means if a person does not expressly say no (opt-out), they can be tested for HIV. ICW is critical of opt-out testing.