Couples Who Get Tested for HIV Stay Informed —Together

A health worker provides HIV pre-test counseling and teaches the couple how to use male and female condoms at the Kimu Primary Health Care Center in Juba. Photo by Gladys Achan for IntraHealth International.December 05, 2022Ladu, a 33-year-old resident of Juba, South Sudan, was hesitant to get tested for HIV. His mother had encouraged him and his fiancé to get tested, but he was wary of a possible HIV-positive test result.In July 2022, he visited the Kimu Primary Health Care Center to learn more about voluntary HIV counseling and testing. After talking to the health worker at the facility, he felt reassured. He decided to visit the facility with his fiancé the following day to test for HIV.The Kimu Primary Health Care Center in Juba is supported by IntraHealth International’sAdvancing HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control (AHEC) Activity. AHEC provides HIV services in South Sudan to help ensure HIV viral suppression and reduce AIDS-related deaths and further transmission of the virus. By partnering with local organizations, the South Sudanese government, and local communities, AHEC helps train health workers to provide HIV services and adapts evidence-based HIV prevention, care, and treatment interventions for people living with HIV. For Ladu and his fiancé, a trained health worker made all the difference.“At first, I feared that I might test HIV-positive and that my girlfriend would refuse to marry me,” he says.“But the health worker exp...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: news