The role of gender, socio-economic and epidemiological factors in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Cross-sectional estimates of 34 countries for the year 2003 were used to examine the effect of various socioeconomic (including cultural) and epidemiological factors in contributing to the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to see if these factors have a differential impact on women and men. The empirical models used multiple regressions in which HIV/AIDS prevalence rates as dependent variables were regressed on a number of determinants as independent variables for adults, men and women. The models were estimated using ecological (cross-sectional) data of 24 Sub-Saharan African countries for which data were available. Of the 11 independent variables used to measure the various determinants of HIV/AIDS prevalence rates, GDP per capita, Human Poverty Index, Access to information, Percentage of Muslim population, Prevalence of male circumcision, and Literacy rates were significant predictors to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the 34 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (at a significance level of .05). These findings are important as they identify the associations between HIV/AIDS and socioeconomic as well as epidemiological factors, and suggest a direction for health policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Until an HIV vaccine becomes available effective, immediate control policies are required, as the adverse implications of the HIV/AIDS pandemic have a devastating impact on Sub-Saharan Africa.--P.ii.