Open AccessHigh HIV and syphilis prevalence among female sex workers in Juba, South Sudan
Author(s) -
Avi Hakim,
Alex Bolo,
Margaret Werner,
Victoria Achut,
Joel Katoro,
Golda Caesar,
Richard Lako,
Acaga Ismail Taban,
Jennifer Wesson,
Alfred Geoffrey Okiria
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0239543
Subject(s) - syphilis , medicine , demography , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , population , respondent , outreach , female sex , sex workers , developing country , prevalence , sex work , environmental health , family medicine , research methodology , biology , sociology , political science , law , ecology
HIV prevalence is estimated to be 2.7% in South Sudan; however, little is known about the young country’s epidemic. We conducted a respondent-driven sampling biobehavioral survey in Juba of female sex workers (FSW) aged ≥15 years who sold or exchanged sex in the last 6 months to learn more about this population. We enrolled 838 FSW from November 2015 to March 2016 and estimated HIV prevalence to be 37.8%. Prevalence of active syphilis was 7.3%. FSW were from South Sudan and most neighboring countries. Comprehensive knowledge of HIV was 11.1% and 64.2% of FSW had never spoken with an outreach worker. In multivariable analysis, HIV was associated with being from Uganda (aOR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.7–6.1) or Kenya (aOR: 4.3, 95% CI: 1.5–13.0) versus from South Sudan. Our survey suggests that FSW may play a critical role in South Sudan’s HIV epidemic and highlights the importance of tailoring services to the unique needs of FSW of all nationalities in Juba.