HARARE - President Mugabe's call for compulsory HIV testing has re-ignited a debate about the pros and cons of mandatory testing, touted as part of measures aimed at further stemming the rise in infections in Zimbabwe.The controversy about compulsory testing has been smouldering for some time. It was a stray remark by Mugabe in an interview with Chinese television CCTV at the United Nations in New York last week that started it.
Mugabe said he thought compulsory testing was not a violation of human rights, an argument presented by those against compulsory testing, who say government must encourage as many people as possible to undergo voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) as opposed to mandatory testing.
Mugabe, 86, told the English language TV station: … the results will remain between the doctor and the person being tested and are not made public. This will determine who is carrying it and who is not. But then you have this human rights thing that says you cannot force someone to be tested and in that regard it is not good. I dont think that its a violation of human rights. If there is any justification for it, it is because it is a measure to justify stopping the spread of an epidemic. At the moment thats the main inhibition on the part of the government … that we dont have the courage to force testing and the law does not allow it. My feeling is that the law should be amended … but this must be done regionally and internationally.
Pastor Moses Chakanyuka said introducing mandatory tests would actually be a gross violation of peoples rights and the church did not support it. The Reverend said that as much as there was need for concerted efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS, people should be at liberty to either test or not.
He said that the government, church and civil society organisations should join hands in fighting the AIDS scourge and not introduce mandatory tests
Mugabe was reported as saying that too few Zimbabweans were voluntarily going for an HIV test and knowing their HIV status would help them to make informed decisions about their lives.
Dr Stanley Zvinoera said an HIV test should be a basic test carried out on any patient visiting a hospital, “just as we test for blood pressure, temperature, urine and haemoglobin levels”.
“We should not even have to ask the patient,” he said. “I don’t see it as an infringement of their rights, because we are trying to save lives. If you are going to tackle a disease lightly, you are not going to achieve any meaningful results.
Post published in: News