HIV Testing Before Marriage…What Is Your Take?

I have been thinking about this issue so hard I believe I burst a blood vessel while writing this.
It isn’t much of a culture in Ghana for partners to test each others HIV and other health status before marriage. Although many churches encourage it these days it is still relatively not an important factor people consider before settling.
I have never heard a bride or groom say he/she wants his partner to have a health test before they get hitched. Perhaps they are always too caught up in the euphoria of the moment, the stress of planning and the surprising discoveries of settling down.
But when you listen to real life stories and realize how easily and quickly HIV spreads among several people within a matter of a few days and sometimes even minutes, it is hard to keep pushing such an important issue to the curb.
So I ask you dear readers, have you ever asked your partner for an HIV test? Or would you do so before marriage? Have you ever really thought about bringing up such a discussion with the man/woman you love? Have you even on your own walked into a health centre for testing before?
Even before marriage, most people in relationships expose themselves to several health risks
The statistic of HIV infection rate was estimated in a survey to be 3.6 percent in 2009, and likely to rise to 4.0 percent in 2014 all things being equal.  HIV has steadily become a major epidemic.
People are estimated to be infected daily in Ghana.
Besides HIV, there are several other health risks involved in intimate commitment between two people.
How are you making sure that you and your partner are protected and not exposing each other to preventable health risks?