Résumé
Current HIV policies predicated on extending access to treatment and prevention depend on a large proportion of the population knowing its HIV status. With this in mind, the World Health Organization reccommends the development of community-based strategies to deliver testing and counseling beyond healthcare services, such as home testing or massive awareness and testing campaigns, implemented in southern and East Africa. In order to develop relevant strategies for regions with low prevalence like West Africa, community-based experiences of promoting testing must be evaluated in these areas. This article presents an evaluation of such campaigns in Burkina Faso from the perspective of the population. Within the framework of a project on the practices and ethics of testing in four African countries (MATCH), a separate qualitative investigation was carried out during the 2008 campaign among those who had been tested during the campaign, those who had been tested outside of the campaign, and those who had not been tested. Opinions are generally very favorable towards the campaigns, namely, in terms of the information distributed, site accessibility, the fact that the test is free, the quality of services and the effect of training. The limitations or criticisms are largely linked to crowding at sites or to the fear of not being supported in the case of a positive result. The testing process is no longer cause for suspicion, at least, not during the campaign. This 'normalization' of testing, as well as collective mobilization, facilitates group practices, which could make keeping one's HIV status a secret more difficult. The evaluation shows that campaigns are perceived to be an opportunity to easily access testing and to communicate on the topic in various social spaces using information received on HIV.