The Centre for Global Health Research, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research (MAHER), successfully organized a two-day online “HIV Testing and Counselling Training (HTCT) Certification Program” on 21st and 22nd March 2026.
The national-level training programme was designed for healthcare professionals working in hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and blood banks accredited or seeking accreditation under NABL (ISO 15189:2022) and NABH standards.
The sessions focused on key areas including NABL-112A/B guidelines, National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) protocols, the AIDS Bill 2017, occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and the legal and ethical aspects of HIV testing and counselling.
A total of 68 healthcare professionals from 16 Indian states actively participated in the programme. The participants included pathologists, microbiologists, medical officers, nurses, laboratory technicians, and social workers, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of HIV care and diagnostics.
The programme featured expert sessions by distinguished resource persons including Dr. Pachamuthu Balakrishnan from MAHER, Dr. V. H. T. Swamy, Dr. Srirama Rao, and Ms. Chaithra Nair from Asha Kirana HIV Hospital and Research Centre; and Dr. Sree T. Sucharitha from Kairo Kinetics.
The interactive sessions provided participants with valuable insights into HIV testing procedures, counselling practices, quality standards, and ethical healthcare delivery.
