A Highland minister has taken an HIV test to highlight the need to overcome stigma in the fight to save lives.
Rev Richard Baxter of Fort William said the self-testing kit, which has been made available in parts of Africa including Malawi, could help stop new infections and unnecessary deaths.
The minister used the mouth swab system at the AIDS2018 conference in Amsterdam.
Church of Scotland minister Rev Baxter said fear of being stigmatised is a major barrier to some groups of people being tested for HIV or recognising their status as having the virus.
Global new HIV infections have declined by just 18% in the past seven years, from 2.2 million in 2010 to 1.8 million in 2017.
Although this is nearly half the number of new infections compared to the 3.4million peak in 1996, the decline is not quick enough to reach the target of fewer than 500,000 by 2020.
The World Council of Churches is running a campaign called “Know your status : HIV testing. Lead by example,” which encourages faith leaders to help overcome the stigma surrounding HIV testing by publically taking one and encouraging others to do so.
Rev Baxter said: “We have the ability to stop new infections and to treat those who are infected so the virus is suppressed and cannot be passed on to others.
“Yet in 2017, there were an estimated 1.8 million new infections, and almost a million people a year still die unnecessarily.
“One of the major challenges is testing because to receive treatment and avoid passing on the virus, people need to know their status.
“This is a big issue, due to the stigma felt by many people, especially men, in attending clinics and medical facilities.”
Mr Baxter said one solution to that is to make self-testing kits available, along with information on where advice and support can be found.
He added: “I used a test kit which is being trialed in Malawi, a simple mouth-swab which gives reliable results within 20 minutes.”
The five-day conference brought together representatives of governments, United Nations agencies, scientific and medical professionals, drug companies, non-governmental organisations and faith groups from around the world to learn of recent developments in the HIV and AIDS field.
The Church of Scotland is the only religious denomination in the UK to have a dedicated HIV Programme.
