World Aids Day : World Health Organization (WHO) Issues New Guidelines on HIV Self-Testing

December 1, 2016: For nearly three decades every December 1 is observed as World Aids Day. AIDS has killed 35 million people since the start of the pandemic. It has left millions of the orphans in its wake. Every year, 2 million people acquire the virus, and the U.N. estimates that more than 1 million people die from the virus annually.

Taboos related to sex and AIDS is so deep rooted that often people shy away even testing HIV. So this year, World Health Organization (WHO) issued new guidelines on HIV self-testing.

• According to the latest WHO progress report, "lack of an HIV diagnosis is a major obstacle to implementing the Organization's recommendation that everyone with HIV should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART)."

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• "Millions of people with HIV are still missing out on life-saving treatment, which can also prevent HIV transmission to others," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan in the release.

• The easy self-testing kit will give the results in just "20 minutes".

• The WHO report says, "HIV self-testing means people can use oral fluid or blood- finger-pricks to discover their status in a private and convenient setting."

• The basic care facility and counseling centers to help the patients is already ensured by the UN. Not only that, they would also help the patients to fight against the social stigma which is attached to it.

• The report also focuses on how testing is low among people who are involved in the same-sex relationships, sex workers, transgender, drug addicts and prisoners.

• WHO's self-testing kits are provided by for free. It also supports other measures that would help people get other such kits at low prices.

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• The release highlights, "HIV self-testing is a way to reach more people with undiagnosed HIV and represents a step forward to empower individuals, diagnose people earlier before they become sick, bring services closer to where people live, and create demand for HIV testing. This is particularly important for those people facing barriers to accessing existing services."

• WHO hopes that this will have a positive impact and it will be helping those is affected. The organization also urged all the nations to come together and fight, in order to end it by 2030.

– by Pinaz Kazi of NewsGram with inputs from various agencies. Twitter: @PinazKazi