Prevalence of HIV testing uptake among the never-married young men (15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of demographic and health survey data (2015-2020).

Abstract

BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, HIV and AIDS remain a major public health concern among adolescents and young men. HIV testing is the first critical step for linking infected individuals to HIV treatment and prevention. However, HIV-testing uptake among sexually active young men remains low in the region. This study was conducted to assess the HIV testing rates among unmarried young men in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsUsing data from the most recent country Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, in 18 sub-Saharan African countries, an Inverse Heterogeneity model (IVhet) using MetaXL software was used to estimate country, regional and sub-regional pooled estimates of HIV testing uptake among sexually active unmarried young men in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, multivariable binary logistic regression was conducted to examine the factors associated with HIV testing uptake among unmarried young men.ResultsThe overall pooled prevalence estimate of HIV testing uptake among sexually active unmarried young men in sub-Saharan Africa was 33.0% (95% CI: 21-45, I2 = 99%, p ConclusionThe prevalence of HIV testing among sexually active unmarried young men remains low in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the results suggest that health policymakers should consider re-evaluating the current HIV prevention policies and programmes with the view of redesigning the present HIV testing campaigns to enhance the uptake among young people.