BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
LIMITED laboratory testing amenities and poorly trained and resourced health workforces in rural areas contributory risk factor to both Sexual Transmitted Infection STI-related morbidity and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) transmission.
This was revealed in the 2018 Solomon Islands AIDS monitoring report under Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) National HIV and STI program.
“Inadequate laboratory testing facilities and poorly trained and resourced health workers in many settings especially rural areas make confirmatory diagnosis of specific infections difficult to ascertain,” the survey revealed.
The study stressed, however, inclusive syndromic diagnosis and management of suspected STIs and a number of observation activities provide a strong indicator of this significant contributory risk factor to both STI-related morbidity and HIV transmission.
Furthermore, the study stressed that the high prevalence of STIs indicates that certain risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex with multiple partners are widespread, which in turn poses a significant risk for the exponential transmission of HIV.
