Adolescents / young people aged 14 to 25 and HIV self-testing

In Mali, scaling up HIV testing in key, general, bridge and vulnerable populations represents a sure way of boosting HIV testing in Mali with a view to eliminating HIV by 2030. The aim of this study is therefore to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to the use or non-use of self-testing for HIV testing at BAZO University in Bamako. We conducted a cross-sectional study with prospective data collection from April 1 to September 30, 2022 among adolescents and young people aged 14 to 25 at BAZO University in Bamako. A total of 140 students were enrolled, 72.1% of whom were male and 87.9% single. Some 79% of our respondents had heard of ADVIH, but only 46% knew about it, and 76% didn’t know how to use it. 89% of students would feel comfortable buying the test at a pharmacy, even though 86% of them had never used ADVIH. Moreover, 77% had a good perception of the ADVIH.