The Minister of Health, Mr. Isaac Adewole, on Friday, launched the HIV self-testing (HIVST) operative Guideline and the dissemination of Alere HIV Rapid Test Kit.
In a statement via his twitter handle, Adewole urged Nigerians to take the test in the comfort of their homes and if positive should visit any government clinic as treatment is free.
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He further said the launch of the initiative is in line with Nigerians focus to rapidly increase intake of HIV testing services as “HIV is not a death sentence.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the HIVST is an HIV self-testing approach, where a person collects his or her own specimen (oral fluid or blood) and then performs an HIV test and interprets the result.
In 2016, WHO published the first global guidelines on HIV self-testing, in which HIV self-testing was recommended to be offered as an additional approach to HIV testing services in countries.