28 August 2007
Nairobi — Some 170 people have been tested for HIV in Malindi in the past three days.
The night voluntary HIV testing is spearheaded by Moonlight Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT).
The tests, done on Lamu Road targets Malindi residents, including tourists.
A Moonlight official said those who turned up were encouraged by the "safety of darkness."
"It was surprising that a lot of men turned up for the tests. Many of them told us the night was a big incentive because few people would see them," said the official who requested anonymity.
Thirty four clients were women, 98 per cent of them being commercial sex workers.
The sponsors, who included Moonlight VCT Services, Better-off Knowing VCT, Liverpool VCT, Afya Two and the Ministry of Health, among others, said that due to the encouraging attendance, they would take the services to Mombasa town.
The main targets of the night exercise, according to an official, were commercial sex workers, truck drivers and "shy people who feel embarrassed to have tests during the day."
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