Brazil promotes HIV testing

By Steve Kingstone
BBC correspondent in Sao Paulo

The Brazilian Government has launched a national campaign to encourage more people to take HIV tests.

Carnival time campaigns haven't been enough

The initiative which uses the slogan, "Get informed," is aimed at those who are carrying the virus without realising it.

It is estimated that 600,000 Brazilians are HIV-positive, but two-thirds of them are carrying the virus without realising it.

Brazil's Aids programme has been heralded by the United Nations as one of the most successful in the world.

The high number of people who do not know they are HIV-positive increases the risk of involuntary transmission whereby carriers unknowingly pass on the virus to others.

Now, the Brazilian Government's new campaign is offering free and confidential HIV tests.

The message is being put across in television and radio broadcasts.

It targets those who believe they are less at risk of contracting the virus.

The campaign is the latest in a series of high profile initiatives here.

The Brazilian Government already pays for anti-retroviral drugs which are used in the treatment of HIV and it puts pressure on pharmaceutical companies to keep down the cost of drugs.

It is hoped that after this campaign as many as 4.5m people a year will take an HIV test in Brazil.