STI Prevalence Study in Zambia

Background

Annually, 376 million new cases of curable STIs, including chlamydia (CT), gonorrhoea (NG), trichomoniasis (TV), and syphilis world-wide, with adolescents and young people (AYP) aged 10-24 years bearing the highest burden of these infections globally. Absence of high-quality data on the burden of STIs – true burden of curable STIs among AYP remains unknown in many low-resourced countries as there is limited ability to design and implement control measures.

Aim

The primary aim of this study is to conduct a population-based survey to measure the prevalence of four curable STIs namely Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), and syphilis among adolescents and young people aged 15 to 24 in Chawama Community within Lusaka. among 15-24yo in Zambia.

The secondary objectives are:

• to estimate the prevalence of HIV and syphilis, and co-infection with other STIs
• determine risk factors for curable STIs, including self-reported STI symptoms and sexual behaviors
• quantitatively and qualitatively understand care seeking behaviors for STI symptoms
• conduct qualitative research to understand the barriers to care seeking for STI symptoms, preferences for STI results delivery and perceptions regarding the burden of STIs among AYP and
• strengthen the capacity of the Zambart laboratory to conduct STI testing through training.

Timeline The study will run from October 2023 to December 2025