Acceptability of Vaccination against HIV : A Mapping of Togolese People’s Positions

Progress is being made in the development of an effective HIV vaccine. Once the vaccine is available, an important public health goal will be its widespread uptake in sub-Saharan Africa, home to 70% of new HIV infections worldwide. It is important, therefore, to begin planning how to promote its widespread uptake there. The aim of this study was to map the different personal positions regarding HIV vaccination of people living in Togo, West Africa. From January to April 2014, we recruited 363 adult participants who were asked to indicate their level of willingness to receive a future HIV vaccine under different conditions varying as a function of five factors: perceived susceptibility to HIV infection; effectiveness of the vaccine; perceived severity of AIDS; cost of the vaccine; and influence of the family. Five qualitatively different positions were found, which were labelled Unconditional acceptance (49%), Depends on cost/effectiveness ratio (20%), Depends on cost (18%), Total indecision (10%) and Complete reluctance (3%). Members of the wealthier segment of society were less often members of the unconditional acceptance cluster and more often members of the cost/effectiveness cluster than others. The diversity of people’s positions regarding a future HIV vaccine implies that HIV vaccination strategies in Togo and other African countries will need to be tailored in design and implementation rather than “one size fits all” interventions. Keywords: HIV vaccine; acceptability; lay people; positions; Tog