Risk and Protection

This report provides a regional overview of adolescents’ knowledge of HIV/AIDS and behaviours that put them at risk for or protect them from infection. It also examines the social and economic context of adolescents’ lives. All of these factors are fundamental to understanding the progression of the epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the report, adolescents are at greater risk of acquiring HIV than adults. Behavioural, physiological and sociocultural factors make young people more vulnerable than adults to HIV infection. Adolescence is a time when young people naturally explore and take risks in many aspects of their lives, including sexual relationships. Those who have sex may change partners frequently, have more than one partner in the same time period or engage in unprotected sex. All of these behaviours increase young people’s risk of contracting HIV. In addition young people who are HIV-positive probably became infected quite recently and are therefore likely to be highly infectious; as a result, they pose a very high risk to their sexual partners result, they pose a very high risk to their sexual partners.

This report draws on data for 24 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa - a larger number than has been examined in earlier studies. Chapter 2 describes some of the broad economic, cultural and social conditions that likely contribute to the special vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among the region’s adolescents. Chapter 3 discusses adolescents’ knowledge and beliefs about HIV/AIDS, while Chapter 4 examines patterns of sexual and marital behaviour that expose them to the risk of infection. Chapter 5 focuses on the steps adolescents take to protect themselves and their partners from HIV and other STIs. Chapter 6 identifies the implications of the findings for policymakers, programme planners and health professionals working to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS in this hard-hit region of the world.

According to the writers, the broad comparative approach taken on this report will allow countries to assess their own situation and compare it objectively with that of other countries and of the region as a whole. The data are organised by major subregions within Sub-Saharan Africa to facilitate such comparisons.