Should HIV testing be mandatory?

An association of people with HIV in Burundi, ANSS, has condemned what it calls "forced tests".

Church leaders say couples do not have to disclose the results to anyone but themselves and can still be married if they are HIV-positive.

Some employers and insurance companies however do require people to disclose their HIV status.

Do you agree with the move by the Catholic Church in Burundi? Or do you see it as unnecessary interference? Should HIV testing be made compulsory? Have you been forced to take an HIV test?

This debate is now closed. Please read a selection of your comments below.

Your comments:

"Mandatory HIV test before marriage are a good idea. Both parties will know what they are "signing" up for in sickness and in health."
Wendy Ollett, Essex, UK

Mandatory HIV test before marriage are a good idea. Both parties will know what they are "signing" up for in sickness and in health. Should they want to start a family, necessary precautions will be taken from the onset to protect their babies from the virus. Facing up to the problem and then dealing with it is always better than burying your head in the sand and pretending all is well.
Wendy Ollett, Essex, UK

It is not the church's role to act as a "screening policeman" for individuals who want to get married. Just as it does not ask for proof of absence of other genetic disorders it should not do so with HIV. The role of the church is moral guidance and not "HIV screening". This is an issue best left to the individuals who want to get married.
Shola Adeyemi, London

Voluntary testing has been offered over the years but it has not been utilised. Mandatory testing should be the way forward for this health hazard to the continent. It is no longer about civil liberties infringement but saving the civil of tomorrow.
Dave, Dc

I totally agree with this radical policy measure instituted by the church. Because HIV/AIDS is devastating innocents people in several parts of Africa and the church have a social responsibility to protect its membership. But then the big question is, how many people in the church get wed before engaging in sex? we can expect lot of marriages outside the church.
Awineboya, Ghana

"I welcome the move of the Catholic Church in Burundi. People should be forced to have the HIV test. "
Marcel Ngomdum,Cameroon

I welcome the move of the Catholic Church in Burundi. People should be forced to have the HIV test. There are women who refuse to get married once their partner asks them to have a HIV test. They do this because they do not want to finish their life without getting married, since no one will accept a HIV positive wife. So if the test is compulsory this will help solve the problem.
NGOMDUM Marcel, Douala Cameroon

I think the church is right. It will help people make informed choices. Some people are not honest enough to disclose their HIV status. Since most people, at least in Africa marry to make children, they will surely have intercourse without condoms.
Benjamin, Newcastle, UK

"It's very absurd to force couples to have an HIV test"

Nabimara Charles, Kampala-Uganda

It's very absurd to force couples to have an HIV test. What should be encouraged is to have the test normal like any other disease. Awareness campaigns and counselling should be the ones on the agenda but not to force to test.
Nabimara Charles, Kampala-Uganda

Isn't this the same Roman catholic church that refuses to endorse the use of contraceptives? This is just another joke. We need real steps that will help prevent HIV
Babila, Atlanta,USA

I do not think that an HIV test should be forced on anyone; it is up to both mates to decide on whether they would like to be tested for HIV. Personally, I would like my future mate to be tested for my own peace of mind.
Foday Bangura, Woodbridge, USA

If you don't want to be excluded and shunned, which mandatory testing seeks, then you should respect the abstinence code to prevent AIDS. Mandatory test will force people to be responsible with respect to their sexual lifestyles.
Ahmed Shiraj University of Ghana

I do not think force is the best way out. I think that we could go a long way if people were educated and sensitised about the danger they may subject themselves to if they got married before knowing each other's HIV status.
Grace Okeng, Brussels , Belgium

"The Roman Catholic Church should be commended for coming out with that measure"

Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi, Kampala, Uganda<

The Roman Catholic Church should be commended for coming out with that measure. I have lost relatives and friends who get married to already infected people. HIV-AIDS test should be mandatory to protect the innocent from victimisation.
Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi, Kampala, Uganda

I believe this idea of conducting HIV test before wedding is not in the right direction. Because it is an indirect discrimination against people living with the disease. It is good to conduct AIDS test, but it should not be made a condition before wedding.
Mensah Bright Lumor, Atsivuta, Ghana

The Roman Catholic Church should be commended for coming out with that measure. I have lost relatives and friends who get married to already infected people. HIV-AIDS test should be mandatory to protect the innocent from victimisation.
Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi, Kampala, Uganda

HIV testing should not be mandatory because it would be infringing on the fundamental human rights of the people. What we should be doing is to make people aware of the dangers involve so they can make a choice. The church is stigmatising people living with HIV/AIDS which is not right.
Raymond Avatim, Salaga, Ghana

The idea of forcing people to disclose their status, before marrying is quite an absurd one. Two people mature enough to identify each other as lifelong partners should be able to take responsibility for what ever they do. Force-testing is only another form of stigma. Our preoccupation should be directed towards real preventive measures rather than embarking on discriminative tendencies.
Kemo Cham, Serekunda The Gambia

Aids is not a respecter of persons. It is real and it kills. HIV test cannot legally be made compulsory for all, however it can be made compulsory as a sine-qua-non to qualify for certain privileges and social benefits.
Anthony Okosun, Baltimore, USA

For us to have future leaders and man power that can bring Africa to its past glory and help to put it on the forefront, we must have healthy Africans. An affected person should not have sexual relation with an unaffected person. This will just bring us back to were we started.
Agas Gassama, Winnipeg, Canada

I strongly support the move by the Catholic Church. They are doing just what is morally right. For me, it is better to be safe than sorry. The action of the Catholic Church is an attempt to stem the further spread of the disease. The church has a moral obligation to the citizens. It is imperative for a man or woman to know if the person he or she is getting married has a sexually transmitted disease or not.
Omorodion Osula, Boston, USA

I think it should be made mandatory. That will be a step in the right direction. It will also curb the menace to an extent. This is due to the fact that, some men and women who even know they are positive hide it from their would-be spouses, by the time they discover it's too late.
Lizzie Kwaghbo, Makurdi, Nigeria