Prevalence of HIV testing uptake among the never-married young men (15–24) in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of demographic and health survey data (2015–2020)

BACKGROUND: In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV and AIDS remain a major public health concern among adolescents and young men. HIV testing is the first critical step for linking infected individuals to HIV treatment and prevention. However, HIV-testing uptake among sexually active young men remains low in the region. This study was conducted to assess the HIV testing rates among unmarried young men in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: Using data from the most recent country Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, in 18 sub-Saharan African countries, an Inverse Heterogeneity model (IVhet) using MetaXL software was used to estimate country, regional and sub-regional pooled estimates of HIV testing uptake among sexually active unmarried young men in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, multivariable binary logistic regression was conducted to examine the factors associated with HIV testing uptake among unmarried young men. RESULTS: The overall pooled prevalence estimate of HIV testing uptake among sexually active unmarried young men in sub-Saharan Africa was 33.0% (95% CI: 21–45, I2 = 99%, p <0.001). There was variation in the prevalence across countries ranging from 7% (95% CI: 5–9) in Guinea to 77% (95% CI: 74–80) in Cameroon. Central Africa had the highest prevalence of HIV testing among unmarried young men, at 47% (95% CI:0–100) while West Africa had the lowest prevalence at 11% (95% CI:2–23). Results further show that young men aged 15–19 (aOR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.52–0.66) were less likely to test for HIV. Young men who spent 8 to 12 years in school (aOR = 3.26 95% CI 2.21–4.79) or 13 years and above (aOR = 3.56 95% CI 2.35–5.37) had increased odds of undertaking an HIV test. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HIV testing among sexually active unmarried young men remains low in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the results suggest that health policymakers should consider re-evaluating the current HIV prevention policies and programmes with the view of redesigning the present HIV testing campaigns to enhance the uptake among young people.