Hiv/aids – related knowledge and sexual behaviour among secondary school students in Benin city

Purpose: The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS amongst African youths has been a major problem in recent times, particularly in Nigeria where over 5% of the population is at risk of the disease. We undertook to assess HIV/AIDS related knowledge and sexual behaviour among secondary school students in Benin City. Methods: In a cross-sectional study using a 59-item selfadministered questionnaire, a survey was carried out among 1917 students (48.7% male and 51.3% female; age: 11-24 years) systematically selected from 13 secondary schools in Benin City to assess HIV/AID related knowledge and sexual behaviour. Results: Awareness of HIV/AIDS was high. Misconceptions about the cause and spread was very high (91.4% and 93.1% of respondents, respectively). The knowledge on prevention was poor as only 40.4% of the respondents knew how to avoid contacting HIV/AIDS. While 9.1% of the students indicated ever having sex (with 67.4% of them using condom before sex), only 2.4% engaged in commercial sex. Some of the males (4.2%) are homosexuals. As many as 5.8% of the youths (and 12.4% of those who had done HIV test in the preceding 12 months) were HIV positive. Conclusion: Despite the various educational efforts to address the problems of HIV/AIDS, the knowledge of secondary school students in Benin City is still poor and the adolescents still engage in risky behavours. This calls for educational intervention that will impact in-depth knowledge about HIV/ AIDS among the youths who are at the center of HIV/AIDS pandemic. Keywords: HIV/AIDS knowledge, risky sexual behaviour, questionnaire survey, secondary schools, Benin City