context
HIV testing services provide a unique opportunity for people diagnosed with HIV infection to begin treatment promptly to get back on their feet. They also identify people at high risk of HIV infection and ensure they have immediate access to a recommended package of effective preventive services.
Planning a testing strategy should include analysis of the epidemiological characteristics of the infection, the populations most affected, and barriers to accessing services, as well as consideration of interventions to coordinate these services more closely to make testing more efficient.
HIV self-testing is one such innovation that offers the potential to reach people who would not otherwise be able to access testing by providing a discreet, convenient and empowering way to be tested. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends HIV self-testing as an option for the delivery of HIV testing services, and evidence to date highlights its role as a key strategy to increase acceptance and use of testing in population groups that are under-reach by existing services.
WHO recommendations for HIV testing services also include dual HIV and syphilis testing. The expected benefits and advantages of dual HIV and syphilis RDT include simplified purchasing processes, reduced storage space, simplified training for healthcare workers, a single pinprick on a single finger, shorter timelines between receiving results and initiating treatment, and a dual opportunity to link people to diagnostic algorithms in settings where syphilis is on the rise.
The webinar aims to get closer to the WHO recommendations, but also to highlight the work that has been done by communities and Ministries of Health in the region, to invite dialogue, clear doubts and accelerate the implementation of the HIV response.
date
June 21, 2024
time
10:00am – 12:00pm (Washington DC time)
Registration
Moderator
Dr. Rene Diberio, Uruguay's National HIV Programme
agenda
10:00am – 10:02am. Doors open.
GCTH/PAHO
10:02 a.m. to 10:22 a.m. 3-Same-day rapid test algorithm
Celine Lastrucci, WHO
10:22am – 10:27am. Discussion
Moderator
10:27am – 10:47am. HIV testing, dual syphilis, local opportunities
Alaale Abadpour. WHO
10:47am – 10:52am. Discussion
Moderator
10:52 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. HIV self-testing, updates.
Carlota Baptista. WHO
11:22 a.m. – 11:52 a.m. Country experiences with the use of HIV self-testing and dual HIV and syphilis testing.
Guatemala CAS. Luis Gomez. WHO (10 min)Colombia Red Somos. John Ramirez Red Somos (10 min)Peru. Carlos Benitez, Ministry of Health. Peru (10 min)
11:52am-12:12pm. Q&A on HIV self-testing and community experiences
Moderator
12:12pm – 12:15pm Commentary and remarks
Monica Alonso. PAHO
12:15pm – 12:17pm. Closing
Carlos Benitez
Hours of Operation
8:00am Central America, Belize, Mexico
9:00am Panama, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Jamaica
10:00am Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Venezuela, Washington DC (USA), Cuba, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Haiti, ECC, Bahamas
11:00am Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile. Suriname
4pm Geneva (Switzerland)
