The Federal Government has recently, launched and disseminated the Operational Guidelines for HIV Self-testing and Evaluation report of Alere HIV Combo Rapid Test Kit in Abuja.
Speaking at the Launch, the Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, said that the Evaluation result of Alere HIV Combo rapid test kit had revealed that the kit performed better than all the test kits in the current National testing algorithm.
The Minister, therefore recommended the Kit as a first line kit in the National HIV testing algorithm, in that; it had a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 99.7%, 98.9% and 99.3% respectively.
He informed that, for effective implementation of the HIV Self-testing (HIVST) in Nigeria, the Operational Guidelines for the delivery of HIVST had been developed. These Guidelines, Adewole explained, outlined the principles for HIVST delivery approaches and packages, quality assurances and coordination for HIVST in the country.
The Minister also said that preliminary results from the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) indicated that the country had made significant progress in the control of HIV and was on course to meet the UNAIDS global 90-90-90 targets: to ensure that 90% of people who were infected with HIV knew their status, 90% of those who knew their status received antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90% of those on ART were virally suppressed.
He assured that HIV self-testing (HIVST) was therefore an empowering and innovative way to help achieve the first 90 by reaching first-time testers, as well as creating demand for and enabling more people to receive HIV testing, particularly those with undiagnosed HIV or who were at high on-going risk and in need of frequent retesting.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Director, Public Health, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, said that HIV testing was the entry point to accessing HIV prevention or treatment services.
She therefore commended the efforts of the National HIV Testing Task Team and the National Evaluation Team for the production of the Guideline and the successful completion of the test kit evaluation respectively while applauding the technical support from health sector development partners.
Also speaking, a member of the National Evaluation Team, Dr. Ali Onoja, assured that a team had been set up to handle any question that might arise from the use of the kit.
Boade Akinola,
Director, Media and Public Relations,
15th April, 2019.
