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. 2013 Oct 15;8(10):e77101.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077101. eCollection 2013.

Recent patterns in population-based HIV prevalence in Swaziland

George T Bicego  1 , Rejoice Nkambule, Ingrid Peterson, Jason Reed, Deborah Donnell, Henry Ginindza, Yen T Duong, Hetal Patel, Naomi Bock, Neena Philip, Cherry Mao, Jessica Justman
Affiliations

Recent patterns in population-based HIV prevalence in Swaziland

George T Bicego et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The 2011 Swaziland HIV Incidence Measurement Survey (SHIMS) was conducted as part of a national study to evaluate the scale up of key HIV prevention programs.

Methods: From a randomly selected sample of all Swazi households, all women and men aged 18-49 were considered eligible, and all consenting adults were enrolled and received HIV testing and counseling. In this analysis, population-based measures of HIV prevalence were produced and compared against similarly measured HIV prevalence estimates from the 2006-7 Swaziland Demographic and Health. Also, measures of HIV service utilization in both HIV infected and uninfected populations were documented and discussed.

Results: HIV prevalence among adults aged 18-49 has remained unchanged between 2006-2011 at 31-32%, with substantial differences in current prevalence between women (39%) and men (24%). In both men and women, between since 2006-7 and 2011, prevalence has fallen in the young age groups and risen in the older age groups. Over a third (38%) of the HIV-infected population was unaware of their infection status, and this differed markedly between men (50%) and women (31%). Of those aware of their HIV-positive status, a higher percentage of men (63%) than women (49%) reported ART use.

Conclusions: While overall HIV prevalence remains roughly constant, age-specific changes strongly suggest both improved survival of the HIV-infected and a reduction in new HIV infections. Awareness of HIV status and entry into ART services has improved in recent years but remains too low. This study identifies opportunities to improve both HIV preventive and care services in Swaziland.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. HIV prevalence (%) by age group and sex. SHIMS 2011.
Figure 2
Figure 2. HIV prevalence (%) in men and women, by age group and survey. 2006-2007 SDHS and 2011 SHIMS.
Figure 3
Figure 3. ART use and awareness of HIV status among HIV-infected individuals, by age and sex. SHIMS 2011.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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