linked to women’s right to equality, non-discrimination and self-protection. States Parties have an obligation to create an enabling supportive, legal and social environment to allowing to control their sexual and reproductive choices and thus to strengthen control over HIV prevention and protection choices. 34. States Parties should ensure implementation of laws and policies through establishment of accountability mechanisms, the development of implementing guidelines, a monitoring and evaluation framework, and the provision of timely and effective redress mechanisms where women’s sexual and reproductive health rights have been violated. 35. The African Commission wishes to stress that, as the duty of States Parties includes ensuring that women are in the position to claim and exercise their right to self-protection in a nondiscriminatory framework as articulated in Article 2 of the Protocol, States Parties should enact laws and policies to ensure women’s access to health and legal services. In particular, States Parties should enact anti-discrimination legislation to address HIV- and other sexually transmitted infections, related discrimination, stigma, prejudices and practices that perpetuate and heighten women’s risk to HIV and related rights abuses. Where discriminatory laws and policies exist, States must take immediate action to remove these legal and policy barriers that hinder women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services. 36. The right to be informed on one’s health status and the health status of one’s partner in Article 14 (1) (e) of the Protocol entails the following: Access to information and education 37. In realising their specific obligations under Article 14 (1) (e), the African Commission reiterates the importance of States Parties’ obligations in relation to access to information and education as highlighted in paragraph 26 above. 38. In view of the serious nature of HIV testing and in order to maximise prevention and care, public health legislation should ensure that pre-and post-test counselling be provided in all cases. With the introduction of home-testing, States Parties should ensure quality control, and establish legal and support services for those who are the victims of misuse of such tests by others. 39. States Parties should ensure that information on one’s health status held by authorities is subject to strict rules of data protection and confidentiality, and must be protected from unauthorised collection, use or disclosure. Sexual and reproductive health procedures, technologies and services 40. States Parties are obliged to guarantee the availability, accessibility and affordability of comprehensive and quality procedures, evidence based technologies and services for the medical monitoring of one’s sexual and reproductive health. These procedures, technologies and services should be evidence-based and should be appropriate to the specific needs and context of women. In the context of HIV, this should include: access to HIV testing, CD4 count, viral-load, TB and cervical cancer screening that may affect women’s sexual and reproductive health. 41. States parties should provide training for healthcare workers on, amongst others, nondiscrimination, confidentiality, respect for dignity, autonomy and informed consent in the context of sexual and reproductive health services for women. 42. States Parties must ensure that testing is not used as a condition for access to other health services, including treatment, contraception, abortion, medical examination, pre- and post-natal services, or any other reproductive health care. Furthermore, positive test results should not be a basis for coercive practices, or, the withholding of services.