HIV Self-Testing: In Our Hands

Posted December 4, 2017

More than a decade ago, HIV was a death sentence for most people in the developing world. Despite the seismic progress in the global response to the epidemic, we have not eliminated the challenges of HIV. Across the world, almost a third of people living with HIV still do not know their status.

Innovations like HIV self-testing (HIVST) are making possible to empower and reach those who may not test otherwise; bringing us closer to achieving the UN 90-90-90 HIV testing, treatment and retention targets set for 2020.

Through the HIV Self-Testing Africa (STAR) Initiative, PSI and partners are working towards catalyzing the HIVST market across six countries in southern Africa and putting this game-changing tool in the hands of those who need it most.

With World AIDS Day 2017 just behind us, and the 19th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STI’s in Africa (ICASA) kicking off today in Côte d’Ivoire, PSI is proud to share In Our Hands – a powerful public engagement film featuring villagers in rural Malawi and their stories of HIV self-testing, using participatory film-making.

Meet Frank, a loving father who has felt the tragic consequences of HIV testing late – what drives him to speak out and tell his story? Find out why young Nsombe has been waiting to test for HIV for so long? And does the ability to test himself, and in private, mean he will finally go through with it? To find the answers, watch this community-led documentary, funded by Wellcome Trust, that draws attention to the barriers that prevent people from going for an HIV test, and goes on to ask questions about the pros and cons of testing in the privacy of your own home.

In Our Hands is a community-led documentary exploring HIV self-testing in Malawi. It is a collaboration between Global Health Film initiative, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Research Programme and WHO. The project portrayed in this film, HIV Self-Testing AfRica (STAR) Initiative is funded by Unitaid. The short-film will be screened at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on December 05, as well as seven other locations on and around World AIDS Day 2017 and ICASA 2017. Click here to watch the full version of the documentary.

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HIV Self-Testing: In Our Hands

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Digitalizing contraceptive counseling to reach rural women and girls in Ethiopia

Building community health worker capacity to deliver malaria care

Taking a market-based approach to scale sanitation in Ethiopia

Promoting self-managed care like Self-testing and Self-Sampling

Using peer coaches to counter HIV stigma in South Africa

simplifying consumers’ journey to care in Vietnam

Engaging the private sector for disease surveillance in Myanmar

Training health workers in Angola

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