Public Health
Facts & Stats
Voluntary counseling and testing center (VCTC)
NACO has developed a VCT policy that states that "no individual should be made to undergo mandatory testing for HIV" and that "no mandatory testing should be imposed as a precondition for employment or for provision of health care facilities during employment" (India's armed forces are exempt from this condition)45.
NACO has also developed guidelines for VCT centers, which deal with consent and confidentiality issues.46 However, many Indians are tested for HIV without their consent or knowledge. It has been reported that over 95% of patients listed for surgical procedures are involuntary tested for HIV; for those who test positive, their treatment/surgery is cancelled.47
Another issue for anyone undergoing an HIV test is that his or her test will in most instances be neither anonymous nor confidential.48 Some Government officials (inc. legislators in Goa and Andhra Pradesh) have even voiced their support of mandatory premarital testing for HIV and are proposing related legislation.