The answer is in the test

Health minister Dr Bernard Haufiku has pleaded with Namibians, particularly men, to go for HIV testing in order to benefit from life-saving treatment. Haufiku''s plea coincided with the announcement of the World Health Organisation''s (WHO) new guidelines on HIV self-testing and partner notification that were released yesterday. According to Haufiku, 210 000 Namibians are infected with HIV while 150 000 are currently on anti-retroviral treatment. These are the figures we know of. The call for testing is in line with the findings of the new WHO progress report, which indicates that a lack of HIV diagnosis is a major obstacle to implementing the organisation''s recommendation that everyone with HIV should be offered antiretroviral therapy. The WHO country representative to Namibia, Dr Monir Islam, also said that there is need for increased awareness about HIV testing. He added that one of the biggest challenges in Namibia is that older men who do not know their HIV status infect young girls, hence the high HIV infection rate in Namibian girls aged 15 to 24. “This is one of the reasons why we see that the HIV infection rate is not reducing significantly. Furthermore, young girls also do not go for testing,” he said. He added that circumcision has not been embraced. “If we start talking about testing then the issue of human rights comes to the fore. Because of this, we are appealing for self-testing because now people can go to a pharmacy, buy a test and test themselves at home without the stigma attached,” he said. Monir pointed out that facilities that dispense these self-testing kits would provide the client with some form of counselling in order to comprehend the magnitude of the test. He also made it clear that it is important that people confirm these self-test results at a health facility, especially if it tests positive. The WHO further states that HIV self-testing is a means to reach more people with undiagnosed HIV and represents a step forward to empower individuals, to diagnose people earlier before they become sick, to bring services closer to where people live, and to create demand for HIV testing. Astonishingly, it also states that men account for only 30% of people who have tested for HIV. As a result, men with HIV are less likely to be diagnosed and put on antiretroviral treatment and are more likely to die of HIV-related causes than women. They also infect more women due to harmful cultural practices. According to the guideline report, barriers that hinder men from testing for HIV include the perception that health services, particularly antenatal care settings, are not male friendly. “As a result, many men remain untested, and those who are HIV positive continue to be undiagnosed and, therefore, linked to treatment and care far too late. Consequently, in many settings, males have a higher HIV mortality rate than their female peers,” the report states. These guidelines also state that although the number of existing studies that look at young people''s willingness to use HIV self-test kits are few, considerable interest in using the HIV self-test has been reported in Canada, France, South Africa and the United States. According to the guidelines similar findings were identified among South African university students who suggested that HIV self-testing was empowering and could “normalise” HIV. Attractive Nanaso executive director Sandie Tjaronda commended the Namibian government for its achievements but pointed out that it needs to repackage its HIV prevention packages to attract young people. “Young people have their own preferences, they may choose not to use the services used by the ordinary citizen. Government must look at this and bring in new ideas,” he said. According to him the high infection rate among girls and young women is driven by harmful cultural practices such as early marriages. JEMIMA BEUKES

The answer is in the test

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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The answer is in the test

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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