Can women safely distribute HIV oral self-test kits to their sexual partners? Results from a pilot study in Kenya

Increasing uptake of HIV testing and counseling (HTC) and identifying HIV-infected individuals are a priority for all countries that subscribe to the goal of World Health Organization/Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS of an HIV-free generation by 2030.1 HTC is thus a crucial step toward achieving the promise of HIV treatment as prevention and achieving the first of the 90-90-90 targets of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.1 However, globally and in sub-Saharan Africa, more than 50% of HIV-infected individuals are unaware of their status.2 Moreover, knowledge of HIV-positive status is lower in men than in women,3 with 61.9% of men and 47.8% of women in Kenya not knowing they have HIV.4