UN agencies call for scaling-up HIV testing and counseling in Asia and the Pacific
By, People's Daily Online, June 5, 2007
Three United Nations agencies in Phnom Penh on Monday called on governments in Asia and the Pacific to rapidly expand access to HIV testing and counseling services.
Fewer than 10 percent of people infected with HIV in Asia and the Pacific are aware of their status, which is a major obstacle in the campaign to prevent the spread of HIV and to provide AIDS treatment, said a joint press release issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
In an effort to overcome these obstacles, the three UN agencies are calling for an increase in client- and provider-initiated testing and counseling, as well as a strengthening of prevention, treatment and care services, the press release said.
Provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) is an approach in which health care providers specifically recommend an HIV test, when it fits the local epidemiological and social context, it said, adding that this requires that health facilities have the capacity to ensure that patients receive and understand basic information on HIV and have given informed consent prior to the testing.
Provision of individual post-test counseling and referral to specialized services are steps that follow the HIV test, ideally done at laboratories linked to quality assurance and control schemes, it said.
"Knowing his or her HIV status is a public health and human rights imperative, as it leads to life-extending HIV treatment, care and support services, as well as to evidence-based prevention interventions," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.
Representatives from the three UN agencies are meeting from June 4 to 6 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with experts and civil society delegates to identify strategies for dramatically increasing the availability of HIV testing and counseling services, the press release said.
According to the press release, as of 2006, an estimated 8.5 million people are living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region. In 2006 alone, 1 million additional people were infected and more than 500 000 people died.
More than 20 years after the first reported case of HIV in the region, access to testing and counseling is limited. Although voluntary counseling and testing sites have been established in all countries, poor infrastructure and limited human resources hinder the capacity of health services to introduce and deliver the needed testing and counseling, it said.
Source: http://english.people.com.cn/200706/05/eng20070605_380866.html
Three United Nations agencies in Phnom Penh on Monday called on governments in Asia and the Pacific to rapidly expand access to HIV testing and counseling services.
Fewer than 10 percent of people infected with HIV in Asia and the Pacific are aware of their status, which is a major obstacle in the campaign to prevent the spread of HIV and to provide AIDS treatment, said a joint press release issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
In an effort to overcome these obstacles, the three UN agencies are calling for an increase in client- and provider-initiated testing and counseling, as well as a strengthening of prevention, treatment and care services, the press release said.
Provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) is an approach in which health care providers specifically recommend an HIV test, when it fits the local epidemiological and social context, it said, adding that this requires that health facilities have the capacity to ensure that patients receive and understand basic information on HIV and have given informed consent prior to the testing.
Provision of individual post-test counseling and referral to specialized services are steps that follow the HIV test, ideally done at laboratories linked to quality assurance and control schemes, it said.
"Knowing his or her HIV status is a public health and human rights imperative, as it leads to life-extending HIV treatment, care and support services, as well as to evidence-based prevention interventions," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.
Representatives from the three UN agencies are meeting from June 4 to 6 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with experts and civil society delegates to identify strategies for dramatically increasing the availability of HIV testing and counseling services, the press release said.
According to the press release, as of 2006, an estimated 8.5 million people are living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region. In 2006 alone, 1 million additional people were infected and more than 500 000 people died.
More than 20 years after the first reported case of HIV in the region, access to testing and counseling is limited. Although voluntary counseling and testing sites have been established in all countries, poor infrastructure and limited human resources hinder the capacity of health services to introduce and deliver the needed testing and counseling, it said.
Source: http://english.people.com.cn/200706/05/eng20070605_380866.html
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 11:34 am
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