Individual and Couple's Decision for HIV Testing in Nigeria

Rebha Sabharwal, Arizona State University

Despite the massive rollout of HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services across sub-Saharan Africa, barriers of both logistical and socio-cultural nature in access to VCT persist. This paper uses data from Nigeria 2003 Demographic and Health Survey to examine factors that influence the likelihood of having an HIV test and factors that shape women’s and their partners’ intention to get tested in the future. Regarding the former, we find that Christian religion, older age, having at least primary education, and city background significantly increase the likelihood of having been tested. The analysis of willingness to get tested finds no effects of HIV-related knowledge but reveals differences between husbands and wives in the effect of several predictors. Further research shall be concentrated on this issue.