Switzerland looks set to offer voluntary HIV tests to asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa. Compulsory HIV testing is not allowed under Swiss law, and it's proposed that asylum seekers testing HIV-positive will be offered counselling, and advised about HIV transmission risks.
The number of HIV-positive Africans living in Switzerland has increased substantially in recent years. In 1989 less than 1% of HIV-positive individuals in Africa were HIV-positive, but by 2001 this had increased to over 11%. According to figures from the Swiss Federal Health Office, of the 791 people testing HIV-positive in Switzerland in 2002, 218 were African.
HIV tests for asylum seekers will be conducted at the five refugee registration centres as part of medical check-up provided to all newly arrived asylum seekers. Swiss health officials say the tests will provide an opportunity to familiarise refugees with HIV issues and provide counselling what the implications of an HIV-positive test result. Individuals testing HIV-positive will also be told about transmission risks.
Health “mediators” recruited from the African community have already been trained by the Swiss Red Cross and the Swiss Tropical Institute to provide HIV information to sub-Saharan Africans in Switzerland. The Swiss Tropical Institute wants an assurance that the immigration status of individuals testing HIV-positive will not be affected.
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