FHI Launches Egypt's First Anonymous VCT Site

FHI/Egypt, in conjunction with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), launched Egypt's first anonymous voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) site for HIV/AIDS at the Central Laboratory in Cairo in celebration of World AIDS Day, on Dec. 1, 2004. The opening ceremony was chaired by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Awad Tag El Din, Minister of Health and Population. Dr. Magda Rakha, First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Ms. Mary C. Ott, Deputy Director for USAID/Egypt co-chaired this ground-breaking event. The opening ceremony was also attended by undersecretaries of the MOHP, representatives from other international and local organizations working in the field of HIV/AIDS and gathered significant attention from the press.

In Egypt, reporting of HIV/AIDS cases is mainly based on mandatory testing. Those who undergo mandatory HIV testing are nationals leaving to work abroad, blood donors and foreigners entering Egypt for a stay exceeding three months. Voluntary testing is available at public and private testing centers, but positive results, including the name of the HIV positive individuals, must be reported to the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP). Therefore, many individuals, particularly those in high-risk groups, fear being tested for HIV/AIDS.

To overcome these fears, Family Health International (FHI) has been implementing activities to initiate VCT in Egypt under the USAID-funded Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project. FHI facilitated the formation of a VCT Task Force, developed a VCT operational work plan, trained 17 counselors from the National AIDS Program (NAP), Central Laboratory, the HIV/AIDS hotline and local NGOs in counseling skills for VCT, provided 2 HIV/AIDS hotline counselors with counseling skills training in Jordan, and has assessed potential VCT sites. Based on this assessment, the Central Laboratory was selected to be Egypt's first VCT Center, providing completely anonymous and confidential counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS.

IMPACT has refurbished the VCT site at the Central Laboratory and provides it with on-going technical assistance. The Minister of Health and Population has been showing greater interest in supporting national HIV/AIDS activities, and expressed this support during the official opening ceremony of the VCT site.

FHI established the Central Laboratory VCT site to serve as a model for the rest of the country and the region as a whole. The Central Laboratory was identified as the ideal location for Egypt's first anonymous HIV/AIDS testing site due to the high-quality testing procedures utilized there and the availability of confirmatory testing technology, not available elsewhere in Egypt. The VCT site offers clients anonymous pre-test counseling, HIV testing, post-test counseling and referrals.

In order to ensure that a standardized approach is taken in implementing VCT nationwide, FHI has developed National VCT policies and guidelines, a national VCT counseling skills manual, operating procedures for conducting VCT at the Central Laboratory, and a national monitoring and evaluation plan for VCT. All of the documents are available in both Arabic and English.

During 2005, FHI/Egypt plans to support 5 additional VCT sites, with funding provided by USAID. FHI/Egypt will fully establish two of the new sites and provide technical assistance to the MOHP in establishing and maintaining three of the sites. The implementation of VCT coincides with the NAP's growing awareness of the need for accurate data to determine the level of the HIV epidemic in Egypt. The NAP is supporting the shift to anonymous testing for HIV. Sites established by FHI will be the first standalone sites established for anonymous VCT for HIV. Other international organizations are currently supporting the NAP in establishing mobile VCT clinics.