HIV in Mpumalanga: progress in treatment but testing challenges remain

The HSRC’s latest provincial HIV data revealed that in Mpumalanga, HIV prevalence among young men aged 15–24 was 1.5 times higher than among their female peers. The finding is striking, considering that adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) have long accounted for a disproportionate share of HIV infections in South Africa. At the Mpumalanga launch of findings from the HSRC’s 2022 national household HIV survey, stakeholders argued that successful AGYW interventions should be fully extended to boys in the same age group. Increasing uptake of HIV testing also emerged as a priority in the province.