Factors associated with HIV testing among men age 15-24 in Uganda

Abstract

Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, more than 70 million people have been infected and about 35 million people have died. Globally, an estimated number of 36.7 million people were living with HIV in 2016 (UNAIDS, 2016). An estimated number of 25.5 million people are living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS, 2017). HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA, 2017) indicated that the total number of adults and children of all ages living with HIV in Uganda was estimated to be approximately 1.3 million. According to the Ministry of Health estimates in 2015, HIV incidences among adolescents remain high at 12%. Of the 36.7 million people living with HIV globally, only 60% of people know their HIV status and 40% still need access to HIV testing services ( MacPhail, Pettifor, Moyo, & Rees, 2009). Fewer than one in five boys and one in three girls aged 15-19 years in Africa report having ever tested for HIV(Gong, 2010). Between September 2010 and September 2017, 2,093,311 individuals were tested and counseled for HIV (USAID, 2017).