Testing Millions

Testing Millions is an action campaign based on the conviction that "We can no longer wait for people to take themselves to inaccessible VCT [voluntary counselling and testing] centers. We have to find ways to bring testing to the people – where they are, where they work and where they live. [This entails:] Confidentiality maintained, quality testing modalities utilized, safer sex and prevention information provided and support and treatment referrals immediately offered to positive clients post disclosure."

AHF extends a call each year for current testing programmes around the world to step up their efforts, "break[ing] the mold and do[ing] things differently." To that end, the campaign website is designed to help partners prepare their World AIDS Day strategies with resource information and links to outreach and promotional materials, training modules and testing data reporting, as well as lessons learned and success stories from around the world. For instance, AHF's 1-day training curriculum is detailed here. Designed to be universally applicable and capable of being adapted to suit the needs of each community, the curriculum is split into 5 modules containing general information about HIV transmission and prevention, and group facilitation, rapid testing processes, tailored to the approved algorithm in each country and disclosure of test results. In addition, a regional supplement is offered, detailing legal issues and cultural considerations faced by those performing testing services in those individual parts the world. Participants from each country who sign on to the campaign also receive information regarding medical referrals for those who test positive.

HIV/AIDS.

According to AHF, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. AHF claims that the "vast majority of positive people worldwide are unaware of their HIV status." AHF has incorporated bioLytical Laboratories' rapid HIV diagnostic product, the INSTI Kit. It is billed as an accurate, simple-to-use device which uses blood, serum, or plasma to identify HIV infection. At 60 seconds for a reading, "[i]t has played an important role in streamlining HIV testing to accommodate the demand for free and accessible testing services."

AHF claims that 1,603,272 people were tested worldwide as a result of the 2008 Testing Millions campaign. For example, in a testing event held at the plaza by the Metro Insurgentes rapid transit stop in Mexico City, Mexico, more than 500 people tested during a six-hour free health clinic. Six individuals were found to be HIV-positive and linked to follow-up care and treatment. And at a one-day testing event in the town of Masaka, in Uganda, 1,941 individuals were tested. AHF's Uganda CARES spearheaded a mass mobilisation effort and conducted group pre-test counselling for the daylong event, which followed an AIDS awareness march of thousands of citizens marching through the town led by government, health, and military officials. For other examples and images, visit the campaign website.

Located in Los Angeles, California, United States (US), AHF provides medical care and services in 22 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, and Asia.