Today only half of people living with HIV are aware of their status. This “testing gap”, coupled with the importance of early treatment for HIV, is driving interest in of the role of self-testing for HIV.

Concerns about confidentiality and privacy are one of the key barriers to HIV testing services for adolescents (aged 10-19), as expressed by this young woman in Malawi. However, recent studies on the use of HIV self-tests suggest that the availability of a simple and discreet way to know their status themselves may be one of the keys to dramatically increasing the number of adolescents who take a test and go on to access support and further HIV testing, prevention, treatment and care.