The [him] moderator recognises that voluntary counselling and testing will need to be increased as more people come forward to access treatment. But he deplores the routine testing of people in health care situations. There is no ‘guidance’ to monitor the routine human rights violations that occur as a direct result of routine testing. Shame on WHO and UNAIDS. You can comment directly to them or on the [him] forum … and read the attached critical analysis.
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Action: WHO/UNAIDS Draft Guidance on Provider-initiated HIV Testing and Counselling in Health Care Settings
World Health Organization
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Dear Colleague,
Since June of this year, the World Health Organization and the UNAIDS Secretariat have been coordinating a consultative process to develop guidance on provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling in health care settings. We are pleased to inform you that the latest draft of the guidance document in English can now be found online at this link: http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/publicreview/en/
An Executive Summary of the document is available in French, and will soon be available in Spanish. The full text of the document in these languages should be available on the same website by December 18.
We are now seeking broad public comment on this document. If you wish to provide comments, please follow the instructions that appear on the website and send in your comments according to the following schedule:
English comments by 5 January, 2007; and
French and Spanish comments by 19 January, 2007.
We also welcome comments from your colleagues and constituency groups should you wish to disseminate this message more widely.
The consultative process followed to arrive at the current draft included an international meeting held in July 2006 with 60 experts in different aspects of HIV testing and counselling, including representatives from national and local governments, non-governmental organizations, people living with HIV and international organizations. Separate, extensive discussions have occurred with different international stakeholders and partners, and across WHO and the UNAIDS Secretariat.
Many valuable comments and suggestions have been incorporated into the current draft. At the same time, we have attempted to keep the document as succinct and clear as possible for it to fulfil its primary purpose: the provision of guidance on HIV testing and counselling within health care settings. We wish to thank the many colleagues internationally who have contributed to the process so far, recognizing that the wording of the draft guidance does not imply final endorsement by WHO or UNAIDS.
The draft document draws, and provides guidance, on the implementation of earlier recommendations published by WHO and UNAIDS in 2003 (The Right to Know) and 2004 (UNAIDS and WHO Policy Statement on HIV Testing and Counselling). The document is also mindful of the social, legal, ethical and human rights issues that must be addressed in the implementation of provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling, including the need for an appropriate standard of HIV prevention, treatment and care.
We look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. De Cock
Director - Department of HIV/AIDS
WHO
Purnima Mane
Director - Policy, Evidence and Partnerships
UNAIDS Secretariat
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Sent by: PITCGuidelines
Email: PITCGuidelines@who.int
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