article · Discover Public Health
A cross-sectional study examining Demographic and Health Survey data from 2022 to 2024 evaluated HIV screening among 106,367 adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 across 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Fewer than one in three participants had ever undergone HIV screening. Rates of testing were substantially higher in sub-Saharan Africa than in Asia. Uptake correlated positively with older age, higher educational attainment, household wealth, sexual activity, pregnancy, contraceptive use, visits to health facilities, media exposure, and ownership of a mobile phone. Overall screening rates remain low across the surveyed populations. Addressing these gaps requires expanding youth-friendly health services, embedding screening into routine sexual and reproductive healthcare programmes, and deploying digital health tools alongside media campaigns. Targeted interventions focusing on poorer households and urban groups are highlighted as vital to improving equitable access.
Adolescent girls and young women face disproportionate risks of HIV infection, yet diagnostic coverage remains critically low across multiple developing regions. Identifying the demographic, behavioural, and structural factors that influence testing is vital for public health agencies and international donors seeking to curb transmission and design targeted reproductive healthcare interventions.
This epidemiological research represents early-stage public health analysis rather than a commercial technology. However, its findings provide evidence for digital health developers, mobile network operators, and non-governmental organisations designing mobile-enabled health platforms, media campaigns, and integrated sexual health services. Implementing such solutions would require applied software development and formal partnerships with public health systems to reach underserved and poorer demographics effectively.
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HIV remains a major global health challenge, with 39 million people living with the virus in 2023. Adolescent girls and young women face disproportionate risk, yet evidence on HIV screening uptake is often country‑specific. Comparative data across African and Asian contexts are limited, leaving a gap in understanding the broader determinants of screening. This study assessed the prevalence of HIV screening and identified sociodemographic, behavioral, and contextual factors associated with uptake among adolescent girls and young women. A cross-sectional analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data (2022–2024) from 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia included 106,367 women aged 15–24. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine individual, community, and health system factors linked to HIV screening. Less than one in three participants had ever been screened for HIV. Uptake was significantly associated with older age, higher education, wealth, sexual activity, pregnancy, contraceptive use, health facility visits, media exposure, and mobile phone ownership. Regional differences were pronounced, with substantially higher screening in sub-Saharan Africa compared to Asia. HIV screening among adolescent girls and young women remains unacceptably low. Strengthening youth‑friendly services, integrating testing into reproductive health programs, and leveraging digital health and media platforms are critical strategies. Equity‑focused outreach targeting poorer households and urban populations is essential to close gaps and advance global HIV prevention goals.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12982-026-02834-w
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