South African HIV self-testing policy and guidance considerations

Francois Venter¹, Mohammed Majam¹, Lauren Jankelowitz², Siraaj Adams², Michelle Moorhouse^{2

3}, Sergio Carmona⁴, Wendy Stevens^{4

5}, Busisiwe R Msimanga⁶, David Allen⁷, Pooja Balani², Zwoitwaho Nevhutalu⁸, Naleni Rhagnath³, Amir Shroufi⁹, Walter Devillé^{10

11}, Victoria Kazangarare^{12

13}, Renee van der Wiel¹⁴, Hugo Templeman¹⁰, Adrian Puren¹⁵, Tim Tucker¹⁶, Gilles van Cutsem^{9

17}, Francesca Conradie², Krista Dong^{18

19}, Thato Chidarikire²⁰, Andy Gray²¹

Affiliations

¹ HIV Management Cluster, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.
² Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
⁴ National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁵ Department of Haematology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
⁶ World Health Organization, South Africa.
⁷ Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁸ South African National AIDS Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁹ Médecins Sans Frontières, Southern Africa.
¹⁰ Ndlovu Care Group, Groblersdal, South Africa.
¹¹ Utrecht University Medical Center, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
¹² PSI, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹³ Society for Family Health, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁴ Wits Institute For Social & Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
¹⁵ National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁶ Strategic Evaluation, Advisory and Development Consulting (SEAD), Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁷ Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
¹⁸ iTEACH, Denton, United States.
¹⁹ Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States.
²⁰ National Department of Health, Pretoria, South Africa.
²¹ Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

PMID: 29568643
PMCID: PMC5842980
DOI: 10.4102/sajhivmed.v18i1.775

South African HIV self-testing policy and guidance considerations

Francois Venter et al. South Afr J HIV Med. 2017.

. 2017 Sep 22;18(1):775.

doi: 10.4102/sajhivmed.v18i1.775. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ HIV Management Cluster, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.
² Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
⁴ National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁵ Department of Haematology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
⁶ World Health Organization, South Africa.
⁷ Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁸ South African National AIDS Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁹ Médecins Sans Frontières, Southern Africa.
¹⁰ Ndlovu Care Group, Groblersdal, South Africa.
¹¹ Utrecht University Medical Center, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
¹² PSI, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹³ Society for Family Health, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁴ Wits Institute For Social & Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
¹⁵ National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁶ Strategic Evaluation, Advisory and Development Consulting (SEAD), Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁷ Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
¹⁸ iTEACH, Denton, United States.
¹⁹ Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States.
²⁰ National Department of Health, Pretoria, South Africa.
²¹ Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

PMID: 29568643
PMCID: PMC5842980
DOI: 10.4102/sajhivmed.v18i1.775

Abstract

The gap in HIV testing remains significant and new modalities such as HIV self-testing (HIVST) have been recommended to reach key and under-tested populations. In December 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the Guidelines on HIV Self-Testing and Partner Notification: A Supplement to the Consolidated Guidelines on HIV Testing Services (HTS) and urged member countries to develop HIVST policy and regulatory frameworks. In South Africa, HIVST was included as a supplementary strategy in the National HIV Testing Services Policy in 2016, and recently, guidelines for HIVST were included in the South African National Strategic Plan for HIV, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis 2017-2022. This document serves as an additional guidance for the National HIV Testing Services Policy 2016, with specific focus on HIVST. It is intended for policy advocates, clinical and non-clinical HTS providers, health facility managers and healthcare providers in private and public health facilities, non-governmental, community-based and faith-based organisations involved in HTS and outreach, device manufacturers, workplace programmes and institutes of higher education.

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Conflict of interest statement

The donor did not participate in or influence the process of guideline development. A.G. is a member of the Medicines Control Council (which will regulate in vitro diagnostics, including HIVST), and the National Essential Medicines List Committee. He chairs the Unitaid Proposal Review Committee, which has called for submissions to support supply-side interventions and demand-generation for HIVST (see https://www.unitaid.eu/call-hiv-self-testing/). M.M., M.M. and F.V. hail from the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, which receives grants unattached to device manufacturers to facilitate registration, technical assistance and implementation of self-testing in South Africa.

Figures

**FIGURE 1**
HIV self-testing algorithm.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on HIV self-testing and partner notification Supplement to consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services [homepage on the Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2016. [cited 2017 May 22]. Available from: http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/vct/hiv-self-testing-guidelines/en/ - PubMed
1. World Health Organization (WHO) Technical specifications series or submission to WHO prequalification – Diagnostic assessment TSS-1: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rapid diagnostic tests for professional use and/or self-testing [homepage on the Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2016. [cited 2017 May 22]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/251857/1/9789241511742-eng.pdf
1. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 – An ambitious treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic [homepage on the Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland: UNAIDS; 2014. [cited 2017 May 22]. Available from: http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2017/90-90-90
1. National Department of Health (NDoH) South African National Strategic Plan for HIV, STIs and TB 2017–2022. Pretoria, South Africa: NDoH; 2017.
1. South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) Rules relating to good pharmacy practice [homepage on the Internet] Board notice 194 of 2016. Government Gazette No. 40522, 23 November 2016. Arcadia, South Africa: SAPC; 2016. [cited 2017 May 22]. Available from: http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/40522_bn194.pdf

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South African HIV self-testing policy and guidance considerations

Affiliations

South African HIV self-testing policy and guidance considerations

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

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