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Broader HIV testing programmes urged

    JOHANNESBURG

    The Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE) has called for the number of HIV/AIDS voluntary testing centres to be expanded.

    At a recent UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) conference, FGAE head, Gebeyehu Mekonnen, said the centres were a vital weapon in tackling the pandemic.

    "Had we started earlier in the fight against HIV/AIDS, we would have saved lives at all levels. The elite need to push this forward and advocate before we are engulfed," Mekonnen told the UN news service PlusNews.

    "Services should be available to everyone. Voluntary testing must be broadened so that every health facility in the country can offer that service," Mekonnen added.

    UNAIDS has estimated that 6.4 percent of the country's adults aged between 15 and 49 are living with HIV/AIDS.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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