Abstract
BackgroundMany men who have sex with men (MSM) are at significant risk for HIV infection. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of HIV infection among MSM in Burkina Faso.MethodsA cross-sectional biological and behavioral survey was conducted from January to August 2013 among MSM in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. MSM 18 years old and above were recruited using respondent driven sampling (RDS). A survey was administered to study participants followed by HIV testing. Population prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for the RDS design were produced using the RDS Analysis Tool version 6.0.1 (RDS, Inc., Ithaca, NY).ResultsA total of 662 MSM were enrolled in Ouagadougou (n = 333) and Bobo-Dioulasso (n = 329). The majority were unmarried, with an average age of 22.1 ± 4.4 years old in Ouagadougou and 23.1 ± 4.7 years old in Bobo-Dioulasso. RDS-adjusted HIV prevalence was 1.7% (95% CI: 0.9–3.1) in Ouagadougou and 2.7% (95% CI: 1.6–4.6) in Bobo-Dioulasso. HIV prevalence among MSM under 25 years old was 1.3% (95% CI: 0.6–2.8) and 0.9% (95% CI: 0.4–2.5) respectively in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, compared to 5.4% (95% CI: 2.2–12.5) and 6.6% (95% CI: 3.4–12.3) among those 25 years old or older in these cities (p = 0.010 and p < 0.001).ConclusionsResults from this first biological and behavioral survey among MSM in Burkina Faso suggest a need for programs to raise awareness among MSM and promote safer sex, particularly for young MSM to prevent HIV transmission. These programs would need support from donors for innovative actions such as promoting and providing pre-exposure prophylaxis, condoms and water-based lubricants, HIV counseling, testing, early treatment initiation and effective involvement of the MSM communities.
Highlights
Many men who have sex with men (MSM) are at significant risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection
The majority of study participants were under 25 years old (83.6, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 79.2–87.2 in Ouagadougou and 75.5, 95% CI: 70.6–79.9 in Bobo-Dioulasso), and unmarried (94.6, 95% CI: 91.6– 96.5 in Ouagadougou and 96.7, 95% CI: 94.2–98.1 in Bobo-Dioulasso)
The study showed that HIV prevalence among MSM in Burkina Faso was relatively high compared with the prevalence in the general population, which was 1.0%
Summary
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of HIV infection among MSM in Burkina Faso. Most programs focused on the prevention of heterosexual and mother to child transmission to the detriment of sexual transmission between men, until several studies conducted during the last decade confirmed the high prevalence of HIV among MSM [6,7,8,9,10,11]. There is no specific law that criminalizes same-sex sexual behaviors in Burkina Faso, but sex between men is stigmatized [12] It is often associated with a hidden HIV epidemic in Africa [13, 14], which underscores the progressive reorientation of including MSM as a target population for HIV prevention and care [5]. In Nigeria, HIV among MSM in Abuja, Ibadan, and Lagos were 34.9, 11.3, and 15.2%, respectively [21]
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