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Health ministry officials take HIV tests publicly

Officials of the health ministry publicly took HIV tests as part of events held in Minsk on December 1 to mark World AIDS Day.

A rapid test, capable of delivering results in few minutes, was used at the event, called "I Have Taken an HIV Test."

Aleh Dubovik, an officer of the UN Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said that the test kit costs around $1. “Its sensitivity is some 99.6 percent. So, it is reliable,” he said.

Street cleaner Hanna Husilewskaya told BelaPAN that she took the test to be on the safe side.

Aleh Arnautaw, the health ministry’s chief sanitary officer, also joined the event.

“By participating, I want to show that this is an absolutely civilized approach,” he said. “The information obtained as a result of the test will allow the individual to know more about his health.”

Mr. Arnautaw emphasized the need for all people, including those who fall outside of the at-risk group, to take an HIV test.

Maryya Maslinowskaya, a PR officer of the UN Global Fund, said that the main purpose of the testing event was to encourage people to take an HIV test. It was possible to test only a limited number of people within an hour with the help of the equipment, she noted.

“When a person does not think that he may be in the at-risk group, he develops a false sense of security,” she said. “Even when a person is confident in himself, he still should take an HIV test to encourage others to follow suit. This procedure should become routine, like a regular medical examination or an X-ray.”