Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria Indicator Survey ... - Measure DHS

8.9 HIV TESTING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLEKnowledge of one’s own HIV sero-status can motivate a person to protect himself/herself, orto practice safer sexual behaviour to avoid transmitting the virus to others. It is particularly importantto measure coverage of voluntary HIV testing among youths, not only because of their vulnerability,but also because they may experience obstacles in accessing voluntary counselling and testing (VCT).Table 8.8 shows, for young women and men age 15-24 who had sexual intercourse in the past 12months, the percentage who reported having an HIV test in the past 12 months and received theresults of the test.In general, women are more likely than men to have been tested for HIV. For example, 23percent of women and 22 percent of men age 20-24 who had sex in the 12 months preceding thesurvey were tested in the past 12 months and knew their results. While men age 20-24 were morelikely to have been tested than men age 15-19 (22 and 17 percent, respectively), the pattern is reversedfor women (25 percent women age 15-19 compared with 23 percent for women age 20-24).Differences in HIV testing by marital status are minimal, however urban youth are morelikely than rural youth to have been tested for HIV. Regional variations are small, which may suggestthat VCT services in Tanzania are widespread in all zones, including Zanzibar. For women and men,there is a strong association between VCT and level of education or wealth status. Youth with noeducation and those in the lowest quintile are the less likely to have been tested for HIV than otheryouth.106 | Youth and HIV/AIDS