The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) survey has revealed that the North West had the fifth highest HIV prevalence rate in the country at 12.3% in 2022, with HIV prevalence in the province at 20.8% among those aged 25 to 49 years old overall.
This translates to an estimated 465 000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the province. The key findings of the Sixth South African HIV Prevalence, Incidence,
and Behaviour Survey (SABSSM VI) were released during a provincial dialogue held in Mahikeng.
The survey showed that in 2022, HIV prevalence in the province was 20.8% among those aged 25-49 years overall and more than 2-fold higher (29.0%) among females than among males (13.4%).
Among adolescents and youth, HIV prevalence was 2.5-fold higher among females (8.3%) than among males (3.3%) of the same age. The survey revealed that the HIV prevalence peaked at 31.4% among those aged 40 to 44 years in 2022 compared to 36.8% among those
aged 45 to 49 years in 2017.
However, there was a decrease in HIV prevalence in 2022 among those aged 30 to 39 and 40 to 49 years,” said principal investigator of the study, Professor Khangelani Zuma from the HSRC.
He raised concerns regarding the worsening situation among adolescents and youth, with HIV prevalence being worse or similar to that of 2017.
According to Zuma, the prevalence of HIV among adolescents 15 to 19 is higher (4.5%) in 2022 than in 2017 (3.2%), indicating continued infections among adolescents and youth.
The data presented are for three priority districts in the province, Bojanala, Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Ngaka Modiri Molema, where oversampling was undertaken to enhance the precision of the HIV prevalence estimates.
The council said data for Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati was not presented because this district was not oversampled to allow for reliable estimates.
