Testing week is an initiative that was launched by HIV in Europe in 2013 to help more people to become aware of their HIV status. Now in its fifth year and the third time hepatitis testing has been included, European HIV-Hepatitis Testing Week will take place from 17-24 November 2017.
Today, at least one in three of the 2.5 million people living with HIV in Europe are unaware that they are HIV positive. Half of those living with HIV are diagnosed late – which delays access to treatment.
Hepatitis B and C are common among people at risk of and living with HIV. Around 13.3 million people and 15 million people are living with hepatitis B and C in the WHO European Region, respectively. As the disease is often asymptomatic and left untreated, chronic hepatitis is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and live cancer. The majority of people with hepatitis C remain undiagnosed and only a small minority in Europe (3.5%) receive treatment.
These statistics suggest that we need to be doing more to encourage individuals who are unknowingly living with HIV and/ or hepatitis to take a test, and to better target people who could be at risk.
The ultimate goal of European HIV-Hepatitis Testing Week is to make more people aware of their HIV and/ or hepatitis status and reduce late diagnosis by communicating the benefits of testing. The theme for this year’s testing week is Test. Treat. Prevent., with the aim of supporting ongoing dialogue between all partners in the HIV and hepatitis communities, in order to:
- Encourage people who could be at risk of HIV or hepatitis to get a test
- Encourage healthcare professionals to offer an HIV or hepatitis test as part of routine care in specific settings and conditions (in line with present European guidelines)
- Support and unite community organisations to scale up access to HIV and hepatitis testing as far as possible and share lessons learned between countries
- Make more government bodies aware of the individual, societal and economic benefits of HIV and hepatitis testing initiatives and how to evaluate testing practices.