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Couples HIV testing urged for Valentine's Day

    JOHANNESBURG

    Zimbabwe has urged couples to undergo voluntary counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS (VCT) at its New Start Centres during a 9 to 21 February Valentine's Day promotion.

    The service began in 1999 as an experiment in the social marketing of VCT but has been transformed into the second-largest effort of its kind in Africa.

    The operations manager for the centres, Miriam Mazo, was quoted by a local newspaper, The Herald, as saying: "We are encouraging couples who are intending to get married, and those already in matrimony, to visit New Start Centres and know their HIV status free of charge. This would help them make informed decisions concerning their lives."

    While last year's Valentine's Day Promotion only tested 4,262 more people for HIV, Mazo said she was confident of an increase in new clients for 2004.

    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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