Abstract

Nigeria, like other sub Saharan African countries, is heavily affected by human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and the young people have the highest prevalence. It is estimated that less than one in ten people in sub Sahara Africa know their HIV status despite the fact that the present HIV intervention packages depend on the knowledge of HIV status. Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS is a concept that is designed to address this gap. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge and attitudes of VCT for HIV/AIDS among undergraduates of law faculty in tertiary institutions in Anambra state southeast Nigeria. This is a cross sectional questionnaire based survey conducted among law undergraduates in Anambra state using a multistage random sampling method. The respondents were all full time law students and were aged between 15 to 42 years, with a mean of 21.06 ± 3.0 years and a modal age of 20 to 24 years. Two hundred and ten (71.4%) of the students were aware of VCT for HIV/AIDS while eighty four (28.6%) of the respondents had no knowledge of it. The commonest sources of information about VCT for HIV/AIDS were electronic media 114 (38.8%), followed by churches 67 (22.8%) and print media 44 (15.0%). Although majority of respondents had positive attitude towards VCT for HIV/AIDS, 20% of them disapproved of VCT and this is quite high considering their educational status. Public health education, awareness programmes and VCT centers dedicated to young people should be established.

Key words: Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), awareness, law undergraduates, attitude, southeast, Nigeria.