HIV self-testing

box HIV self-testing (HIVST) has shifted the paradigm for HIV testing, the first step in the care continuum. Although HIVST, whereby the person performs the test and interprets the results, was conceived early in the HIV epidemic, wider access to HIVST in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a recent phenomenon. A decade ago, large-scale HIVST use was limited due to concerns about accuracy, feasibility and safety. Through coordination between the WHO and implementation projects, including the Unitaid-funded HIV Self-Testing Africa (STAR) Initiative, HIVST is now part of the approach to HIV diagnosis in a growing number of high burden settings, with lessons for HIV programmes, other disease control efforts and the wider universal health coverage agenda.1 This shift to HIVST was driven by a need for better HIV diagnostic strategies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where under 50% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) knew their status in 2013.2 Despite no precedent for self-testing, no registered commercial assays and several implementation barriers, researchers and funders, set out to inform guidelines, policy development and regulatory frameworks. This effort shed light on the feasibility and effectiveness of large-scale implementation of HIVST by establishing preferred distribution channels, thereby generating demand. We describe key lessons learnt from HIVST in LMICs to

Family medicine · Public health · HIV Research and Treatment · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment

• Perspectives of Policymakers on the Introduction and Scale-Up of HIV Self-Testing and Implication for National HIV Programming in Ghana

  Open Access•Henry Nagai, Henry Tagoe et al.•Frontiers in Public Health•2021

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• Effects of a multimedia campaign on HIV self-testing and PrEP outcomes among young people in South Africa

  Open Access•Isolde Birdthistle, Sarah Mulwa et al.•BMJ Global Health•2022

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• Delivering HIV-Positive Test Results via Phone

  Open Access•Michelle Dearolf, Drew A Westmoreland et al.•AIDS and Behavior•2025

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• Characterising the HIV self-testing market in Kenya

  Open Access•Rebecca West, Lily Freeman et al.•PLOS Global Public Health•2023

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• Examining the effects of HIV self‐testing compared to standard HIV testing services

  Open Access•Cheryl C Johnson, Caitlin Kennedy et al.•Journal of the International AIDS…•2017

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• Uptake, Accuracy, Safety, and Linkage into Care over Two Years of Promoting Annual Self-Testing for HIV in Blantyre, Malawi

  Open Access•Augustine Choko, Augustine T Choko et al.•PLoS Medicine•2015

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• Intervening in global markets to improve access to HIV/Aids treatment

  Open Access•Brenda Waning, Margaret Kyle et al.•Globalization and Health•2010

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