Scaling up Pediatric HIV Testing by Incorporating Provider-Initiated HIV Testing Into all Child Health Services in Hurungwe District, Zimbabwe.

Overview

Manuscript published in The Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
This manuscript discusses the implementation of a pediatric HIV testing program in order to scale-up pediatric HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa, where testing is usually limited to HIV-exposed children in maternal and child health clinics.  The study team focused in 33 health facilities in Zimbabwe, integrating HIV testing into all pediatric health services and compared numbers of children tested before and during the program using routinely collected aggregate program data reported by health facilities. Results indicated that integrating HIV testing into all pediatric health services is feasible and can assist in identifying HIV-infected children who could be missed in current testing approaches.