Voluntary counseling and testing for HIV among high school students in the Tiko health district, Cameroon

Abstract

Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) is a major component of HIV prevention and care. VCT is also perceived to be an effective strategy in risk reduction among sexually active young people [1]. A recent study in Cameroon reported an HIV prevalence of 3.2% [2] among youths aged 15-24 and an estimated 4.3 to 5.9 million young people in the same age group living with HIV [3]. The Cameroonian government has done a lot to reduce the incidence of HIV infection [4]. However, the Global AIDS epidemic report 2008 indicated that only 16% of the Cameroonian population aged 15-49 knew their HIV status [5]. Another study in Cameroon showed that awareness and use of centres offering VCT for HIV were very low [6]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of VCT services among high school students in the Tiko health distrit (THD).

Keywords

• hiv
• vct
• knowlegde
• attitudes
• adolescents
• youths
• students