New Aids kits to take out the fear through confidential self-testing

He carried a HIV self-test kit to use in the privacy of his own house.

After dinner he took a shower and got ready for the self-test, reading through instruction on the pack.

Then he stopped and kept the kit away promising himself to take the test the following day.

By the third day, Mr George Omulo was yet to take the test. He felt like a young woman who is anxious to know whether she had become pregnant after unprotected sex.

“I closed my eyes and prayed for strength to go through the test,” he said.

But just 60 seconds after pricking himself and putting blood sample on the kit, Mr Omulo knew his status; the anxiety within him subsided.

The 34-year-old midwife at Kenyatta Hospital had never gone for a HIV test, just as many other health workers.

“I knew there were days I had unprotected sex. I recalled the time I got pricked in the course of my work. But I just could not walk to a VCT because I would meet with patients I attended to, and this would undermine the trust and authority they had for me,” Mr Omulo said.

“Being tested by my own colleagues would also stigmatise me and bring professional shame. So with all the knowledge I had about HIV, I did not go for a test,” reveals Mr Omulo.

He is among many health workers who were overjoyed by a pilot project carried out by WHO to introduce HIV self-test kits in Kenya.

The pilot project was conducted in two hospitals, with 295 workers taking part.

Seventy per cent attended while 93 per cent acquired the self-test kit. There was high interest in self-testing which was estimated to be about 72 to 80 per cent accurate.

The project was conducted after observations that health workers were at risk, but were reluctant to seek HIV testing and hence did not access HIV treatment and prevention services.

Dr Peter Cherutich of NASCOP says that Kenya is keen to formalise HIV self-testing since the pilot was highly acceptable with 97 per cent of healthcare givers willing to test themselves.

He says that self-testing may potentially increase the uptake of HIV testing, adding that this will reduce the frequency of unregulated informal testing.

“Though It was challenging, I took the self-test kit because it gave me confidentiality, it gave me the opportunity to be the first one to know my status,” Mr Omulo says

Dr Cherutich is quick to point out the challenge of lack of providers. Currently there are just two providers distributing the HIV self-test kits, but at a cost.

“We want this kit to be cheap and affordable to enable us reach millions of people in order to break the limitation of testing due to the expenses that comes with it.” Dr Cherutich says.

“If this new kit is formalised, then we shall see the end of VCTs, and reduce the human resource needs that come with VCTs,” Dr Cherutich says. “Soon we shall be buying the kit over the counter, just as pregnancy kits. It will be part of our lifestyles to test ourselves for HIV. We want to make it routine like blood sugar test.”

According to WHO 2.5 per cent of HIV infections among health workers are as a result of needle stick injury.

However, health workers have not had priority access to effective HIV prevention and treatment, yet 43 per cent of death or medical retirements are known to be caused by HIV.

According to the study, stigma and fear of disclosure may be a major obstacle to health workers accessing HIV testing.

The study observed that the confidentiality, autonomy and convenience that self-testing comes along with could be a suitable platform for targeting couples for counselling and coping.

Dr Cherutich says that the self-test that is auto rapid is a new relevant technology as it cuts down on the time between when the sample is taken and when the results are out.

In the earlier days, one had to go back the next day to get their HIV test results; this equally increased the level of anxiety.

“Now we get our results within 15 minutes, but that still is too long hence the need for us to formalise the auto rapid self-test innovation which takes just 60 seconds.”