HIV self-testing in Africa: stakes and challenges.

ABSTRACT

HIV self-testing constitutes a new complementary strategy for HIV testing for general populations as well as "key" populations such as sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, and young people; it may help to reach the UNAIDS 90-90-90 objectives by 2020. In Africa, many pilot studies have been conducted, mainly in English-speaking countries, and they have demonstrated the high acceptability, practicability and clinical performance of HIV self-testing. Innovative strategies, including the translation of HIV self-test instructions for use into vernacular languages in association with educational pictograms, should be developed and evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa to implement HIV self-testing.