BT men shun HIV services

Blantyre District Health Office (DHO) has expressed concern with the number of men accessing HIV testing services (HTS) in the city.

HTS coordinator Maggie Kanyenda said yesterday statistics show that men in Blantyre continue to shun the services despite high HIV and Aids awareness and sensitisation.

Kanyenda was speaking at Bangwe and Manje markets during roadshows to complement the commemoration of World Aids Day.

She said men have lower HIV testing rates and less contact with HIV clinical settings as only 15 percent of them access the services.

Said Kanyenda: “We are deliberately targeting men because of the significant gap that exists between men and women regarding the testing rate. Women mostly visit health facilities for various services such as antenatal and postnatal checkups where they access HIV services.

“This male involvement campaign is aimed at increasing their numbers in HIV testing and accessing anti-retroviral drugs.”

Women’s Legal Resource Centre (Wolrec) coordinator Mecca Kamanga, whose organisation supported the road shows with funding from Global Fund, said they decided to support the event to reach out to more men.n