Zanzibar government pushes for more HIV testing

Legislators on the semiautonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have all taken HIV tests as part of plans to encourage increased screening to stem the pandemic. "Members of the Zanzibari parliament, led by the speaker, Pandu Ameir Kificho, have shown the way - we have all undergone blood screening to check for HIV," Deputy Chief Minister Ali Juma Shamuhuna told an estimated 5,000 people attending three-day Muslim gathering. At least 1,000 people were tested. "Of the people who went for blood examination, only four have been found positive. This could be a good sign that we are now serious in making sure that we do not contract the disease. Let us be careful by observing the religious teachings," Shamuhuna said. Zanzibar's leaders have attributed its relative stable HIV prevalence of less than one percent to a strategy of AB and ZC - Abstain, Be faithful and observe Zanzibari Culture. Condom use is not given much consideration on the predominantly Muslim island.