Religion and HIV/AIDS Behavior of Men in Sub-Saharan Africa

Baffour K. Takyi, University of Akron
Stephen Obeng Gyimah, Queen's University
Gabriel Fosu, ORC Macro

Despite the extensive research on religion and health-related behaviors and outcomes, few focus on the interrelationship between religion and HIV/AIDS behavior in Africa. Such neglect not only reduces our comprehension of HIV/AIDS related behavior in a region where religion affects private and public life, but also hampers our response to the epidemic, particularly in a region where HIVAIDS has had a tremendous effect on the lives of the people. Second, existing studies tend to focus on women. But in a region where men’s actions affect women’s reproductive behavior, it is important for policy makers looking for effective prevention programs to examine the critical links between men’s religious behavior in the discourse on AIDS. We use data from the 1998 and 2003 Demographic and Health Surveys from Ghana to explore men’s religious affiliation and their HIV/AIDS protective behavior.