Malawi News Agency-Mana

Malawi is in the process of finalising the HIV and Aids Prevention and Management Bill and one contentious issue is that of mandatory testing. The bill was developed to provide an institutional framework for effective regulation of the prevention and management of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Malawi.

On one hand, others think the right of an individual to decide on whether to undergo the HIV testing and subsequent disclosure of their status is supreme. Convincing as that school of thought may sound, others think mandatory testing is ideal in the HIV response.

At the moment, expectant mothers are forced to undergo HIV testing so that if they are HIV positive, children being born are protected, and the mother is guided on healthy living. This is the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission-PMTCT service.

Thus the feature story, Rights Vs Responsibilities: The case of mandatory HIV testing in Malawi published on Mana online on September 11, 2014. (http://www.manaonline.gov.mw/index.php/component/k2/item/1267-rights-vs-responsibilities-the-case-of-mandatory-hiv-testing-in-malawi) and on September 24 published in The Daily Times (page q57) under the headline ‘To go or not to go for Mandatory HIV testing’ was written to bring to light and encourage debate on the HIV bill.

The general grip of the story is stirring debate on the bill by bringing together diverse views on Mandatory HIV testing. The story brings together policy makers from institutions involved in the development of the bill and indeed people who are mostly not consulted when policies are being made.

However, the story also zeroes in on gender. It brings to light views of expectant mothers, who at the moment are forced to undergo mandatory HIV testing. In fact, some women have been divorced if found positive because men think they have been unfaithful. Thus, being key stakeholders in the matter, the story gave them a platform to raise issues and they did by urging government to make it mandatory that even husbands get tested when their wives are expectant.

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