Conditions:

• The child should be mature enough to understand the nature, benefits, risks and social implications of the HIV test;
• The decision for and process of testing must be in the child's best interests; and
• Pre- and post-test counselling is to be provided by an appropriately trained person.

Through our KidzAlive programme, and providing HIV testing support to the "Health Care Survey for Children Living on the Street", we have gained extensive knowledge in tailoring HIV services to meet the needs of children and adolescents. We offer this expertise to our partners in civil society and government to assist with monitoring and evaluating the operations of the HCT Campaigns and interventions, and we provide Quality Assurance services to ensure that the care offered is confidential and of a high standard, and fulfills the best interests of the child.

The Schools HCT Campaign's requirement for parental consent contradicted the primary intentions of the overall HCT Campaign, and the efforts of NGOs to conduct HIV testing in this age group. Zoë-Life prepared an alternative "Letter of Information" for parents and caregivers. The redrafted "Letter of Information" and the accompanying briefing document has been endorsed by a number of NGOs working in the field of HIV and Youth. It has been sent to the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and the Government departments engaged in the campaign. It has also been appended as a supporting document by the Yezingane Network (the Children's branch of SANAC) to an application to Section27 for legal opinion on the Schools HCT campaign.

Our Capacity Assessment Tool enables the measurement of his or her knowledge and understanding of a full range of issues related to HIV testing and its consequences.

Using observations of the process of interaction between the assessor and the child, either before or during pre-test counseling, the Tool summarises a set of ratings against indicators in specified domains to produce a finding on the child's capacity to consent. It is a uniquely valuable resource for our partners in government to use as part of the HCT scale-up in schools, and more generally, to uphold and preserve the health, dignity and wellbeing of our children.

The programme is a model for a comprehensive package that offers a safe approach to testing of and disclosure to young children and that supports engagement with the child, parent and healthcare worker to provide an integrated intervention.