The document summarizes the global initiative 'Free and Easy HIV Testing' undertaken by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) to address the three main reasons for low HIV testing rates - the lack of a cure, social stigma, and limited access to confidential testing services. Through this initiative, AHF provides confidential and sensitive HIV testing services in locations where people live and work to make testing more accessible and encourage more people to learn their status. Recent efforts in multiple countries involved setting up tents to administer rapid HIV tests and engage in pre-test counseling, which helped identify individuals unaware of their status and link them to treatment.

1. 35January 2009 | www.i4donline.net
AHF:TakingHIVtesting
to the doorsteps
AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION (AHF)
Remarkable progress to tackle the menace
of HIV has been made across the globe,
since the discovery of HIV, with the
introduction of Anti Retro viral Therapies
(ARTs) and by creating awareness about the
infection. However, in spite of the number
of global initiatives, the threat of HIV does
not appear to go away very soon. Not only
the people engaged in high risk behaviours
such as those having unprotected sex with
multiple partners, injecting drug users and
people into sex work are getting infected
with HIV, the general population is also
getting affected by it. Everyone is at risk
of infection and worldwide infection rates
show that HIV is infecting men, women
and children of all ages. Millions of people,
who were earlier not considered to be at
‘high risk’, are now infected.
According to UNAIDS estimates, the
total number of people living with HIV
globally was 33 million in the year 2007.
Out of which, surprisingly, 2.5 million
people got infected in 2007 only. Above all
the most shocking fact is that till now 2.1
million people have died of HIV. In India
the number of people living with HIV is
2.5 million. The very fact that there were
over 6800 new HIV infections a day in
2007 globally and that more than 96% of
them are in the low and middle income
countries is very threatening.
One of the obstacles in HIV prevention
and management has been the lack of
awareness among people about their HIV
status. Most of the people living with HIV
globally do not know that they are HIV
positive.This has resulted in unintentional
transmission of the virus to their partners
and other individuals. With the availability
of ART and other information on how to
live with HIV, the impact of this infection
could have been averted had people known
their HIV status earlier. Various studies and
experts suggest that there are three main
reasons why people do not go for voluntary
Dilshad Mohd
HIV Testing Coordinator
AIDS Healthcare Foundation – India Cares
mohd.dilshad@aidshealth.org
The AHF
undertook the
global initiative
‘Free and Easy
HIV Testing’,
through which
AHF is providing
confidential and
sensitive services to
bring HIV testing
to the doorsteps
of people
www.aidshealth.org

2. 36 i4d | January 2009
HIV testing. The first reason is there is no
cure of HIV and people think that there
is no point in getting tested if there is no
cure. Second important reason is the stigma
attached with this infection. People do not
even want to reveal that they had gone for
HIV testing. The third important reason
of unwillingness among the masses to go
for HIV testing is lack of confidential and
sensitive testing services.
To address and help resolve all the
three factors mentioned above, the AIDS
Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has embarked
on a journey to educate people about the
latest information available apart from
providing treatment to all those who need it.
To ensure that right information is provided
about the availability of treatment and that
people have access to quality, confidential
and sensitive testing services, the AHF undertook the global
initiative ‘Free and Easy HIV Testing’, through which AHF is
providing confidential and sensitive services to bring HIV testing
to the doorsteps of people – to the places where they are, where
they work and where they live. The aim is to scale up the testing
to the maximum extent possible and close the loopholes that are
allowing preventable virus to infect individuals and causing death
among masses.
Recently ‘AHF One Million Tests World AIDS Day 2008
Campaign’ around the world organised pre-test counselling
sessions to seek out new rapid test kit modalities, break out of the
clinic by putting up a tent in places accessible to the community
to provide fast and easy testing services. During the process it was
observed that people were not concerned about confirming their
status due to lack of access to testing services, fear of stigma and
discrimination, fear that the test will be positive, and lack of access
to treatment. But the global testing initiative has made testing
available to people at their doorsteps with confidentiality of status,
proper counselling with follow up and access to treatment. With
this, a new hope and a new beginning has been made.
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FT Climate Change Challenge