Addressing HIV prevention and disease burden among Africans aged over 50 years

Abstract

Although sub-Saharan Africans aged 50 years or over constitute about 4.7% of the general population and 5.6% of the total adult population infected with HIV, they remain the forgotten cohort of the AIDS pandemic. Based on a literature review and data from the World Health Organization Demographic Health Surveys, the authors analyse the prevalence of HIV among African men aged 50-59 and provide a brief analysis of risk factors, as well as the influence of demographic, epidemiologic, pathophysiologic and socio-cultural transitions on HIV prevention and disease burden among older Africans. Evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment interventions are urgently required in order to address the wellbeing of HIV-infected, older Africans.