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Abstract
The success of using people with no medical background in offering HIV counselling and testing - a Malawi NGO experience
G. Kamanga,1, E. Gumbo2
Summary of Issues: Malawi is one of the countries which is heavily affected by HIV/AIDS. The HIV prevalence amongst the 15 -49 year age group is 14.4%. One of the national priority areas of HIV/AID response is the scaling up of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) to effect behaviour change and as an entry point for care and support. Different organisations support government on this initiative. The conventional providers are trained medical personnel or paramedics who undergo a five week training in counselling and testing. Due to shortage of medical personnel, people of no medical background who have finished high school (GCE O level) are trained using the same curriculum and for the same duration. The results of the training and the outcome of service delivery are as good as those of the medically trained staff.
Project Experience and Outcomes: Save the Children USA in Malawi -Umoyo Network Programme is implementing a Capacity Building Project for Quality HIV/AIDS Project. This Project gives technical assistance and grants six Malawian organisations offering voluntary testing and counselling. The Project has 17 static and 24 out reach sites. In our project 65 of 115 VCT counsellors (57%) of providers offering VCT services are non medicals while 50 (43%) are medically trained. The quality of service delivery as assessed using specially designed tools and client satisfaction surveys do not differ within these two groups and service utilisation is ever increasing in our sites.
Lesson Learned/Recommendations; In poor resource countries like Malawi the use of people with no medical background to offer Voluntary Counselling and Testing after training them is feasible.
AIDS 2006 - XVI International AIDS Conference
Abstract no.
WEPE0420
Suggested Citation
"G.Kamanga, et al.
The success of using people with no medical background in offering HIV counselling and testing - a Malawi NGO experience.
:
AIDS 2006 - XVI International AIDS Conference:
Abstract no.
WEPE0420"
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