HIV self testing

Offering HIV testing services, including HIV self-testing, at formal and informal workplaces has emerged as an effective, acceptable and feasible approach for reaching men. A 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) policy brief provides key guiding principles for HIVST implementation at workplaces. Building on the 2018 policy brief, this brief captures early experience with HIVST implementation at workplaces and discusses emerging approaches of sustainable financing that can be adapted for HIV self-testing at workplaces.

Among key populations, who have low uptake of other testing options, reported benefits include privacy, convenience, pain-free testing, and ease of use. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines recommending that HIVST should be offered as an additional approach to HIV testing services (strong recommendation, moderate quality of evidence). Although self-tests achieve acceptable sensitivity and specificity, all reactive and invalid results must be linked for confirmatory testing because self-tests are meant to be screening tests.

People can test wherever and whenever they want. HIV self-testing empowers people to find out their HIV status wherever and whenever they want. Since it is easy, quick and private, people may be encouraged to take a test earlier than they would if they had to visit a health facility, potentially bringing an earlier diagnosis. Any HIV-positive result must, however, be followed up with a second test by a health-care provider to confirm the result and get linked to appropriate prevention, treatment and care.

The decision to take an HIV self-test is yours and yours alone. No one else should force you to take an HIV test, either an HIV self-test or any other type of HIV test.