Offering VCT  service means providing people the opportunity to know about their HIV status.            

It  is the primary service that Chikuni Parish HBC offers, everyone is  invited to come here anytime from Monday to Saturday (8.00 until 17.00) to have an HIV Test.  Therefore a nurse and a trained psychosocial counselor  carry out pre and post test counseling and take a blood sample.

 From July 2006 until June 2007 HBC carried out 1405 VCT services, 23 %  of the tested people were found to be HIV positive.

If people are unable to travel to the centre then VCT is offered when the HBC team goes out on its Outreach Visits three times a week. In this case the blood sample is taken to bring back for testing at the HBC centre and the client can either come to the centre to collect their results or wait until the HBC team returns the following month.

At the beginning of its work the HBC faced  a lot of difficulties because people didn’t want to donate a blood sample due to traditional beliefs of witchcraft and a lack of trust, but the hard work has paid off and this can be seen in the huge numbers of people coming for testing each year.                

Ensuring that people are aware of their HIV status is paramount in stopping the spread of this silent disease.