Mpumalanga and KZN have highest HIV prevalence, respectively

KwaZulu-Natal has the second-highest HIV prevalence rate in South Africa. The findings have emerged in the Human Sciences Research Council’s 6th South African National HIV, Prevalence, Incidence, and Behaviour Survey.

The provincial update has been presented in Durban. Mpumalanga reported the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country.

In 2022, KwaZulu-Natal’s HIV prevalence rate sat at 16%, a decline from 18% in 2017.

The HSRC’s Professor Khangelani Zuma is the study’s principal investigator.

“The prevalence of HIV in KZN is 16%, that is the proportion of people living with HIV. This has gone down from  18% in 2017. Now, this translates to 1,9 million people living with HIV in KZN and this has gone down by 10 000 people living with HIV compared to 2017,” says Zuma.

Zuma says the study found that in 2022, HIV prevalence in KwaZulu-Natal was higher among those between the ages of 25 and 49 years old.

“Among the 0-14 year olds, in 2017 the prevalence was 3,8%, which means if you compare 2017 and 2022 the prevalence has actually gone down which means we have slightly fewer children being born HIV positive in 2022 compared to 2017. Most of the young ones in 15 to 19-year-olds, it has shifted from 2% to 4,1%, even if it is less than what it was in 2017 but the infections there are most likely through sexual behaviour,” says Zuma.

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