HIV infection among pregnant women in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: To determine risk factors for HIV among pregnant women (N = 2657) receiving antenatal services in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria. METHODS: Information about potential risk factors was obtained at interview. Biological samples were collected for detection of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). RESULTS: The prevalence of HIV was 8.2%. Women aged 20-29 years had more than 4-fold increased risk of HIV. Women of Catholic (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.01-2.95) and Pentecostal (AOR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.46-4.52) denominations were more likely to be HIV-infected when compared to Moslem women. The risk of HIV was also increased among women with multiple marriages and in women married to a banker/accountant. Other predictors of HIV were having a husband with other partners, perceived risk of HIV, STIs, candidiasis and bacterial vaginosis. CONCLUSIONS: Development of effective interventions, including behavioral change, expansion of perinatal HIV prevention services and STI control, should be given the highest priority

Men's condom use in higher-risk sex: Trends in five sub-saharan African countries

This paper analyses trends in men’s condom use at last higher-risk sex (i.e., with a non-marital, non-cohabiting partner) using the two most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in five sub-Saharan African countries: Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Burkina Faso. Condom use is an important method of preventing HIV transmission. Encouragingly, higher-risk sex has declined in four of the five countries, while condom use rose substantially in Cameroon, Tanzania and Burkina Faso but only had a minor increase in Kenya and Zambia, where use at last higher-risk sex remains below 50 per cent. There are no clear patterns of change across countries in the predictive strength of the explanatory variables between the two most recent surveys, although evidence of a widening gap in use by education in Cameroon is identified. In each country, lack of education remains a strong barrier to condom use in higher-risk sex