![]() Women are at a greater physiological risk of contracting HIV than men. substantiated these results in the 2013 Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) household survey which showed that being young and unmarried increased the risk of HIV acquisition among South African women. Risk factor analysis of these cohorts of women from various HIV prevention trials suggest that being under the age of 25 years, having had one sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the past and being unmarried were significantly associated with high risk of HIV seroconversion. However, HIV incidence data from large scale clinical trials and cohort studies suggests that the low prevalence masks high HIV incidence rates. There have been reports of a decline or stabilizing in HIV prevalence among women in southern Africa. A number of studies conducted among non-pregnant women in parts of east and southern Africa suggest prevalence rates ranging from 14.5% (95% CI 11.2 – 18.4) in east Africa to 38.7% (95% CI 34.2 – 43.3) in Lusaka (Zambia) and 39.5% (95% CI 35.1 – 44.0) in Durban, South Africa. Most countries in SSA report the state of the epidemic based on their ante-natal surveillance data with limited data on HIV incidence due to the difficulty in accurately measuring HIV incidence rates. In 2011, 92% of pregnant women who were HIV positive were living in this region. In SSA, women bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic. The purpose of this review is to discuss the HIV epidemic among women in SSA, associated risks for HIV acquisition, and to provide a brief update on HIV prevention options which may collectively impact on reducing incidence of HIV infection. It is reported that every minute one young woman becomes infected with HIV. ![]() Transmission is mainly through heterosexual sex, with women disproportionately infected compared to their male counterparts. Swaziland has the highest adult prevalence rate of 26.5% followed by South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique at 17.9%, 13.3% and 11.1% respectively. ![]() South Africa remains the country with over 6 million people reported to be infected with HIV. Most countries in SSA report a generalized epidemic (infection rates of > 1%) with pockets of concentrated epidemics in key populations. Almost three quarters (69%) of the 23.5 million people infected worldwide reside in this region. ![]() Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains the region most affected by the HIV epidemic. ![]()
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