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How can most-at-risk populations be encouraged to seek HIV testing?
Lesley Odendal, 2013-07-03 07:30:00
Peer-mediated HIV counselling resulted in the highest uptake of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) among male most-at-risk populations (M-MARPS), according to a longitudinal analysis of three testing strategies conducted in three states in Nigeria. At the same time, a voucher scheme proved successful in monitoring the effectiveness of a programme to encourage testing among MARPs in Kyrgyzstan, researchers reported at the 7th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday.
The UNAIDS Investment Framework recommends that focused programmes for key populations at higher risk (particularly sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men [MSM], and people who inject drugs) are essential to an adequate HIV response and need to be delivered at scale.
Robust evidence of what works in linking most-at-risk populations to HIV counselling, testing, care and treatment is limited, particularly in settings where these populations are stigmatised or where they have not been treated as priority groups for HIV prevention.
Two studies, from Nigeria and Kyrgyzstan, presented evidence on how to reach MARPs with large-scale interventions.
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