Does Availability of HIV-Related Health Services Affect Individual Fertility Preferences and Contraceptive Use in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Akinrinola Bankole, Guttmacher Institute
Ann E. Biddlecom, United Nations Population Division
Isaac Adewole, Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy (CAUP)

Recent uptake in HIV related services, drug treatment for HIV positive pregnant women to lower the risk of HIV transmission to newborns and anti-retroviral therapy for HIV positive people to improve quality of health and lengthen life expectancy, introduces new questions about what this means for individuals’ fertility preferences and contraceptive behavior. Using recent Demographic and Health Surveys data with HIV biomaker and HIV related service availability in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia we examine how these services influence the effects of HIV status on fertility preferences and contraceptive use. Preliminary results show that individuals living in areas where there is greater access to HIV related services, such as ART, are less likely to want to delay or stop childbearing than those in areas with lower access to these services. We hypothesize that availability of these services will also have impact on the associations between HIV status and reproductive behavior.

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Presented in Session 110: HIV/AIDS in Contemporary Africa