God is touching needy children through LifeRise orphan care.
Testing
bring HIV status to light
The Need | LifeRise Strategy
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The Need
Simple tests called rapid tests are available to let a person know his or her HIV status in 10 minutes. Testing is best accompanied by confidential counseling to assess risk, explain the disease, and explore changes in life course depending on the results. The process of testing and counseling is called voluntary counseling and testing, or VCT.
There are two primary needs in regard to VCT. The first is that most individuals don’t have access to this essential service. This means that the majority of those infected with HIV around the world do not know that they have this disease. Those who do not know their status lack appropriate medical care, transmit the virus unknowingly to others, and are unprepared for their future living with a terminal illness.
The second need is for a supportive experience for those who have access and decide to undergo testing. Concerned they are at risk, individuals desire to bring their status from the darkness of uncertainty to the light of reality. This process is often fraught with deep feelings. Those who receive VCT come to a crossroads in life. Individuals who are not infected need to learn how to change future behavior to remain negative. Those who are infected face the shocking news that they have a deadly disease. In 10 minutes, their whole lives are changed. They need to be supported emotionally and understand how to “live positively” with their disease.
LifeRise Strategy
LifeRise AIDS Resources projects increase access to VCT using rapid tests to help individuals at risk learn their status. One way to expand access is to offer VCT to entire families, helping all the members come to know their status, including children. Another way to increase access is to encourage churches to receive training and offer VCT to their communities for powerful impact in the HIV/AIDS crisis. Additional avenues include specialized testing for children, youth-friendly services, and premarital testing.
LifeRise projects also improve the quality of the VCT process to be more emotionally supportive. The counseling process is very important in helping people change attitudes and behavior, address fears and emotions, and deal with disclosure and marriage issues. VCT can be a great ministry to those with spiritual needs. When those who test HIV-positive face their own mortality, they are usually very open to the hope of the gospel.
