Recently, with financing from the Global Fund, Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) has been implementing media activities focusing on Provider Initiated Testing and Counselling. These have included the filming of television and radio programme series, as well as the holding of training workshops and briefings with journalists on the topic. Provider Initiated Testing and Counselling (PITC) refers to a model of HIV testing and counselling whereby a test is offered to the client by a health service provider such as a medical doctor or nurse.

Because of its striking difference to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), whereby a person  voluntarily seeks a testing centre in order to get tested, PITC has been receiving much media and public attention. It has been an issue for discussion within HIV and AIDS programming since 2004 when a UNAIDS/ WHO Policy Statement on HIV testing and counselling recommended the service as a means of supplementing traditional voluntary testing in all health settings with generalised HIV epidemics, and in selected health facilities (such as tuberculosis, sexual health or antenatal health clinics) in areas with low or concentrated HIV epidemics. It is therefore necessary for journalists to ensure that the public becomes aware of this model to ensure that they are informed on the service, should it be offered to them upon a visit to a health care centre.

Issues for the media

• In 2003, it was estimated that only 0.2% of adults in low- and middle-income countries received voluntary HIV counselling and testing services. Can PITC help to overcome these low levels of testing?
• What is your nation’s policy stance on PITC? Is the general public aware of PITC?
• As with voluntary testing and counseling, patients retain the right to ‘opt out’ of the test in PITC. Will PITC therefore bring about an increase in the uptake of HIV testing and counseling?
• People fail to be tested for HIV for many reasons including lack of access to testing services. Can PITC succeed in resource-limited settings where universal access to VCT has been unachievable?
• One of greatest barriers to HIV testing is the lack of access to treatment. If PITC is successfully adopted by nations that are already facing a deficit in providing HIV treatment, will this not exacerbate the situation whereby treatment targets are not met?

For more information, visit
1 http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/CounsellingAndTesting/default.asp
2. http://www.icn.ch/matters_pitc.htm