Abstract
Background 
 The UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS report show that 35.3 million people living with HIV globally, out of that an estimated 3.6 million are people aged 50 years or above.
 Methods
 This was a cross sectional study conducted in Shinyanga, Iringa and Ruvuma regions in Tanzania aiming at determining prevalence and risk factors for HIV infection among elderly people aged 50 years and above. Random sampling was employed to select 2,214 participants. HIV testing to consenting participants was conducted and a survey was used to collect data on socio-demographic information, medical conditions and sexual behavioral factors.
 
 Results
 The overall prevalence of HIV infection among study participants was 4.4% (95% CI=3.6-5.4). The prevalence was higher among females compared to males. Majority of study participants were aware of HIV, transmission and preventive measures. Few respondents knew that a person could be infected through anal sex. More than half of the participants prefer HIV status to remain confidential. A significantly larger proportion (24.2%) of males reported to ever use a condom during their last sexual intercourse compared to females (9.5%). Compared to older age groups, respondents aged 50-59 years were significantly more likely to report condom use during last sexual intercourse. Being in the fourth of highest wealth quintile, ever use of condom, condom use during last sexual encounter, having 2 or more partners in the last one year were associated with an increased risk of HIV infection.
 Conclusion
 The high prevalence of HIV among study participants highlights the prerequisite for increased attention to address underlying risk factors for HIV infection among adults.
Highlights
Background The UNAIDSReport on the global Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) report shows that 35.3 million people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) globally, out of that an estimated 3.6 million are people aged 50 years or above
The percentage of adults living with HIV aged 50 years and older has increased in all regions, at fluctuating rates since 2007 (UNAIDS, 2013)
Our findings are similar with those reported in a review done by Negin and Cumming (2010) where they found that prevalence of HIV infection among people aged ≥ 50 years in sub-Saharan Africa was 4.0%, compared with 5.0% among those people aged [15– 49] years
Summary
Background The UNAIDSReport on the global AIDS report shows that 35.3 million people living with HIV globally, out of that an estimated 3.6 million are people aged 50 years or above. Global statistics reveal that 36.3 million people globally are living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and out of them an estimated 3.6 million are people aged 50 and above years. The majority these estimates 2.9 million are found in low-and middle-income countries where the proportion of adults living with HIV aged 50 years or older is above 10%. In Tanzania the annual occurrence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 64 is 0.29 percentage that is 0.40 percent among females while 0.17 percent among males. On top of that studies on infection rates among older people in Sub-Saharan Africa are few and neglected
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