PSI Malawi and Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust (MLWT) are jointly rolling out an HIV strategy in Mangochi to achieve the 90-90-90 goal of combating HIV and Aids.
The project, called Self-Testing Africa (Star), will be implemented among young people aged between 15 and 24 and other highly vulnerable groups according to project coordinator Kumbukani Mataka.
She said: “The key barriers we want to deal with include confidentiality and privacy; the project will provide an opportunity for people to conduct HIV testing at their own convenient time and place.”
Mataka said the Star project in Mangochi will be implemented in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. MWLT assistant data manager Rebecca Nzawa said the Star project in Mangochi will be implemented six health facilities covering 32 villages. She expressed hope that Star would free up HIV counsellors’ time.
The project will also be implemented in Blantyre, Zomba, Machinga, Mulanje, Phalombe, Chikwawa, Mwanza and Neno.
