Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in West Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia from 2016 – 2019

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Retrospective study on hiv prevalence was conducted in ten health institutions in West Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of hiv/aids from 2016 - 2019. All the data were collected from the hiv voluntary counseling and testing registration log book and the quarterly reporting format of the health institutions. A total number of 113,242 individuals were tested for HIV in 10 Health institutions. According to the present study, 1,005 of the study participants were HIV positive among this, 43.58% of the HIV positive individuals were males and 56.42% were females. The assessment of the current retrospective clinical data record showed 0.89% average annual prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the trend shows that HIV prevalence had slight increase within the study period. The data showed that the disease was more prevalent in the age groups of 15-49 years. Thus, health professionals in each health institution should design programs on comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health to protect people from situations that would place them at risk of HIV infection.