Office to Issue Uniform HIV/AIDS Screening, Counseling Directive

Addis Ababa, September 9 (ENA) - A uniform HIV/AIDS screening and counseling directive would be issued as part of the effort to contain the rapid spread of the disease in the country, the National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office said.

Office Head Dr. Dagnachew Haile-Mariam told ENA recently that a workshop aimed at facilitating sample testing on volunteers who contracted the virus and the counseling activities would be held soon.

Utmost efforts would be exerted to equip the HIV/AIDS screening and counseling centers with essential instruments and skilled professional, he added.

The new directive would also be translated into the various vernaculars of the nations and nationalities in Ethiopia, he said.

According to the head, the country has already set aside a huge budget to finance national the HIV/AIDS intervention programs.