Confirmation has recently been received that on 30 November 2014 a new Guinness World Record was set in Ethiopia. Over an eight-hour period some 3383 people were provided with voluntary HIV counselling and testing at the Gambella National Stadium in the Gambella region.

The HIV counselling and testing campaign was led by the Government of Ethiopia, in collaboration with UNAIDS, to commemorate World AIDS Day 2014. The aim of the HIV campaign was to mobilize communities in Gambella to find out their HIV status and to link them to HIV prevention and treatment services.

Television and radio advertisements were used to inform and mobilize participants. Also on board to encourage participation were community groups, the women’s army, religious leaders as well as the office of the President of Gambella. 

According to the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic Health Surveys, the Gambella region is the most affected by HIV in the country, with HIV prevalence of 6.5% among the adult population. Several factors are attributed to the high prevalence rates in the region, including low levels of male circumcision among certain ethnic groups, migration flows and sex work in areas of commercial farming, mining and major roads connecting Gambella to western Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Qualified counsellors from around the country carried out the HIV counselling and testing. Participants who tested positive for HIV were given more information about the virus and referred to clinics providing HIV services.

The previous Guinness World Record was achieved on 30 November 2012 in Argentina, where 1380 people were tested in eight hours.