HIV Test - NACA faults Covenant Varsity

August 10, 2007

Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, National Agency for Control of AIDS, Director-General, yesterday in Abuja criticised subjecting students to compulsory HIV tests. He was reacting to the recent decision by Covenant University, Otta, Ogun State, to subject students to HIV and AIDS test as a criterion for graduation. Osotimehin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that the university had no such right to conduct the test on the students. "Such action is a breach of the Fundamental Human Rights of the students," he added. He said the agency had made presentations to the National Universities Commission and other regulatory agencies on the need to address the situation. He said the agency had made plans to meet the university on the issue aimed at resolving the situation. "HIV testing is voluntary, it should not be done by compulsion and the result should not be given to any other person, but the person who had the test, " he said.In the case of population based survey in Nigeria, he said that it was possible with "unlinked HIV testing". Unlinked HIV testing is done with blood samples from different people within a population not knowing who owns which sample. He said that would be difficult because people were expected to come out for test willingly,adding that a lot of people were still apprehensive of HIV test."It is difficult to get accurate statistics as it is not possible to ask people to go for compulsory testing," Osotimehin said. He said the statistics derived from ante-natal clinics were there presentation of the 'age group'that were prone to HIV and AIDS.He said that a population-based survey with unlinked samples was being considered as an option for the 2008 Demographic Health Survey.