Low prevalence of HIV infection among persons with disabilities in Niger: findings from a household-based cross-sectional study in 2018.

The aim of this work was to report for the first time the prevalence of HIV infection among people with disabilities (PWDs) in Niger. The Washington Group Short questionnaire was used to identify people with disabilities during a household survey. Blood samples for HIV testing were collected using the Dried Blood Sampling (DBS) method. HIV testing was performed according to the Niger national HIV testing guideline. A total of 21,979 persons aged 15-69 years were screened, of them 2237 (10.17%) had disabilities and 949 participants (4.32%) had severe disabilities (level 3 or 4). Finally, 821 participants agreed to participate in the HIV testing. Female persons with disabilities accounted for the majority (52.25%). People with physical impairment were mostly represented (39.27%) followed by those with visual impairment (38.66%). At least one-third had multiple impairs (36.91%). HIV prevalence among person with disabilities was 0.66% (95% CI: 0.33-1.30). There is no difference between HIV prevalence and type of disabilities or socio-demographic characteristics. Hence, there is a need to consider them in the development and implementation of an effective HIV strategy.

Accessibility and use of HIV prevention services among people with disabilities in Burkina Faso and Niger.

ABSTRACTOur study aims to determine the predictors of access to HIV services among disabled persons in two West African countries. This was a secondary analysis from a cross-sectional study carried out in Burkina Faso, in 2017 and Niger, in 2018. People with a disability of severity 3 or 4 and aged 15-69 were included in the study. Access to HIV-related services was measured separately through three variables (access to condoms when needed, history of testing for HIV and ever attended at an HIV-related service). Factors associated with access to HIV-related services were identified using logistic regression. 1794 participants were recorded, including 973 in Burkina Faso and 821 in Niger. The ability to easily obtain a condom when needed was reported by 29.4% of respondents in Burkina Faso and 5.7% of respondents in Niger. The proportion of participants who had been tested for HIV was 32.2% in Burkina Faso and 13.6%. We observed that 5.7% and 3.5% of the participants were in contact with an HIV-related service. Only educational status was associated with access to HIV prevention services in both countries. There is a need to increase the access to HIV prevention for disabled persons in the two countries.