Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 29, 2006
Compulsory Aids tests: Former United States president Bill Clinton this week said he supports mandatory HIV testing in countries with high prevalence, provided people are willing to participate in the testing programmes and that the country can provide access to anti-retroviral drugs and ensure HIV-positive residents would not experience discrimination.
"We can save people's lives and we can reduce the stigma," said Clinton. "There is no way we are going to reduce the spread of this epidemic without more testing, because 90% of the people who are HIV-positive don't know it." He also said compulsory testing would be a waste of money in countries with low HIV prevalence, but that when a country's prevalence rises above 5%, testing becomes an important resource in stemming the spread of the disease.
He announced that Lesotho would be the first country to participate in a universal testing programme, sponsored by the Clinton Foundation, and is expected to launch it this year. He said the Lesotho programme could serve as a test case to determine whether providing universal access to rapid HIV tests and anti-retrovirals could reduce a country's HIV prevalence.
"We must stop looking at testing as a burden. We must treat it as a public health issue ... without shame," said Clinton.
About 29% of adults in Lesotho are HIV-positive.
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