More on VCT - Get Tested Together, Get Tested Today
on Rob Wootton (Zambia), 23/Jun/2011 17:16, 34 days ago
A week to go and I thought that for whoever does read this blog (I think there are one or two out there) then it would be helpful to explain a bit more about the messages for this year’s VCT day. National Voluntary, Counselling and Testing (VCT) Day is celebrated on 30th June every year and it plays an important role in the response to HIV and AIDS. The day is all about increasing awareness of and access to VCT, and other HIV prevention measures.The theme for the 2011 is“Get Tested Together, Get Tested Today”. This theme focuses on the family, with a special emphasis on couple counselling and testing. The goal of couple counselling, particularly in relation to HIV prevention, is to bring two people together so that they can be empowered to prevent HIV acquisition or its spread, and share their support and love for each other. Here are some of the benefits and possible outcomes of couple counselling and testing:What are the benefits of couple counselling?Testing together improves communication in your relationship and makes it easier to make decisions about your future plansTesting together will help you take appropriate steps to prevent infection or re-infectionGoing for counselling and testing can be scary, but when you go as a couple it is easierReceiving results together means less burden and less stress: trained counsellors will help you disclose your status to each otherGetting tested with your partner will help you receive information together on how best to take good care of yourselves, your children and the family as a whole.What are the possible outcomes of HIV test results among couples?HIV tests results can be negative for both, or positive for both couples– concordant resultsHIV results can have one partner positive and the other one negative– discordant resultsWhen couples are discordant, infection may have occurred before or after they become a coupleWhat is important is to support each other to stay together and prevent future infections by using condoms consistently.