South Africa: Bringing HIV Testing Where It's Needed

Since May 2008, the Tutu Tester mobile clinic has offered testing for HIV and other conditions in Cape Town neighborhoods, serving more than 7,000 people from a rainbow-colored camper-van. Among those testing for HIV, 45 percent were first-time testers, said Nienke van Schaaik, the project's manager.

"Many of our patients have told us they prefer not to go to public clinics for an HIV test because they are afraid of being seen by people they know," said Liz Thebus, one of the Tutu Tester's health workers. "Because we test for other diseases, too, like diabetes and high blood pressure, the outside world does not know for what reason patients are waiting at our doors."

"My health is no one's business," said one Tutu Tester client. "Here, people don't know whether I am tested for high blood pressure or HIV. The workers here do not take my name either, which makes me more relaxed. It means that if I lose my results, no one will know the results are mine." Being examined at the local clinic can also take longer, she said, noting, "I am working and cannot afford to stay away for that long. Here it takes thirty minutes."

The Tutu Tester can screen about 40-60 patients a day, and it has professional testing counselors on hand to talk with patients. While the project does not provide AIDS treatment, it does offer referrals. The Tutu Tester is planning to add TB screening to its services soon, since the infection is rampant in communities where HIV prevalence is high.

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