Home \ Project News \ TCE HIV Home Testing Program in Butuo
More and more people living in rural areas of China who are living with AIDS are actually unaware of their HIV/AIDS status and then spread it to others. HPP China’s Total Control of Epidemic (TCE) project is in Butuo, Liangshan, Sichuan, which is an impoverished area with a high percentage of HIV infection and spread. Only the people can liberate themselves from HIV/AIDS, this is the principle of the TCE project.
In October 2012, the HPP TCE project team started the home testing program in Butuo, Liangshan, Sichuan. It is the first community-based HIV rapid test practice in China. The targets of this program are: ① visit 9,600 families in five townships and conduct in person HIV education; ② mobilize 2,400 people visited to take HIV home testing, and encourage changes in behavior.
Why do we implement HIV home testing program? First, in many cases, the spread of AIDS is due to the fact that the person living with HIV/AIDS is unaware that they have the disease. Only when patients know they have the disease, will they then be aware of treatment options and avoid passing it on others. Therefore VCT (Voluntary Consulting and Testing) is necessary for many people in the villages. Global statistics show that 68% of people who have HIV/AIDS change their behavior after getting the test result. Secondly, it takes villagers 1-5 hours to walk to the township health center for HIV testing. Home testing solves this problem of having to walk a long distance.
In the last three months in 2012, HIV home testing program workers accumulatively visited 4,026 people, out of which 3,126 people received consultation, and 1,962 people took the HIV home rapid testing (1,122 male, 840 female--100 were pregnant women). 25 people tested HIV positive and were referred to the township clinics and CDC (Center for Disease Control).
Unfortunately the winter in Butuo reaches such low temperatures that the test kit is unusable at that time, so the project was temporarily stopped in January 2013 and restarted in spring, in April 2013. More activities will be carried out in 2013 for the HPP HIV Home Testing Program.
The achievements of the 3 months
Our field officer is also the local village doctor. He visits people house to house for HIV testing
