Document
Metadata
Authors
Saad Ahmed Abdiwali, Teshome Gensa Geta
Title
Predictors of HIV/AIDS awareness among women of reproductive age in underserved regions of Somaliland: a cross-sectional analysis of the 2020 demographic and health survey
Journal
BMJ Open
Year of Publication
2026
Abstract
Objective: Sanaag and Sool are two remote regions in Somaliland with limited access to health service and high burden of HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study was to identify the predictors of HIV/AIDS awareness among women of reproductive age in underserved regions of Somaliland using data from the 2020 Somaliland Demographic and Health Survey through a cross-sectional analysis. Design: A cross-sectional study using Somaliland Demographic and Health Survey data. Setting and participants: The study was conducted in the Sanaag and Sool regions of Somaliland. These areas are characterised by underserved communities and ongoing internal conflict, which has significantly undermined the delivery of health services. Consequently, there is a high HIV/AIDS burden in these regions. The study focused on women of reproductive age, using data from the 2020 Somaliland Demographic and Health Survey for the analysis. Variables: The outcome variable of the study was awareness about HIV/AIDS and independent variables including education, media exposure, place of residence and wealth index were considered. Result: The proportion of poor HIV/AIDS awareness is high in Sool and Sanaag, with 38.8% and 26.6% of women respectively having no awareness about HIV/AIDS. Findings indicate that women who had primary and above level of education (adjusted OR, AOR=2.25; 95% CI 1.99 to 2.53) and media exposure including radio (AOR=2.31; 95% CI 1.99 to 2.68) and television (AOR=3.94; 95% CI 3.45 to 4.5) are strong predictors of HIV/AIDS awareness. Women in urban areas (AOR=2.83; 95% CI 2.25 to 3.57) were more likely to have HIV/AIDS awareness compared with women in rural and nomadic settings. Conclusions: Inadequate awareness about HIV/AIDS was associated with education, residence and mass media exposure. Targeted health education programmes, promoting women’s education status and media campaigns could help improve HIV/AIDS awareness, which in turn enables reproductive age women to take protective measures against exposure. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
DOI
10.1136/bmjopen-2025-105730
Category
Medicine and Health Sciences