Table 4.
Age of consent to HTS in sub-Saharan Africa national policies (2013 and 2019) and the National Commitments and Policy Instrument (NCPI)
| Age of consent policy | WHO 2013* (n = 33) | WHO 2019† (n = 38) | NCPI‡ (n= 49) | |||
| Name of countries | No of countries (%) | Name of countries | No of countries (%) | Name of countries | No of countries (%) | |
| No information/no policy identified (NCPI: no data) | Chad, the Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, the Gambia, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan | 8 | Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Togo | 10 | Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Chad, the Comoros, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia | 7 (14.2%) |
| Policy existing for HTS but no mention of ‘adolescent’ or ‘minor’ | Mauritania | 1 (2.1%) | Mauritius74 | 1 (2.6%) | – | – |
| Age of minor not defined | Angola, Benin, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Togo | 7 (17.5%) | Angola,34 Burundi,35 Cameroon,36 Cape Verde, Chad,38 the Comoros,39 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),40 Guinea,41 Nigeria,42 Sudan43 | 10 (26.3%) | – | – |
| No age limit—all or most adolescents eligible | Botswana, Cape Verde, Kenya, Mauritius, Somalia (Somaliland) | 5 (12.5%) | Botswana44 | 1 (2.6%) | – | – |
| 12 years (NCPI: yes, for adolescents younger than 12 years) |
Lesotho, South Africa, Uganda | 3 (7.5%) | Lesotho,76 Mozambique,46 Rwanda,47 South Africa,48 Eswatini,49 Uganda50 | 6 (15.8%) | Rwanda | 1 (2.0%) |
| 13 years | Malawi | 1 (2.5%) | The Gambia,51 Malawi52 | 2 (5.3%) | – | 0 |
| 14 years (NCPI: yes, for adolescents younger than 14 years) |
Liberia | 1 (2.5%) | Liberia,53 Namibia54 | 2 (5.3%) | Benin, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, the Gambia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Uganda | 15 30.6%) |
| 15 years | Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal | 3 (7.5%) | Ethiopia,55 Kenya,56 Senegal,57 Somalia,58 United Republic of Tanzania59 | 5 (13.2%) | – | 0 |
| 16 years (NCPI: yes, for adolescents younger than 16 years) |
Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe | 6 (15.0%) | Côte d'Ivoire,73 Ghana,61 Zambia,62 Zimbabwe63 | 4 (10.5%) | Botswana, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Niger, Zambia, Zimbabwe | 9 (18.3%) |
| 18 years (NCPI: yes for adolescents less than 18 years) |
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania | 14 (35.0%) | Benin,64 Burkina Faso,65 Central African Republic,66 Eritrea,67 Madagascar,68 Mali,69 Sierra Leone,70 South Sudan71 | 8 (21.1%) | Angola, Burkina Faso, DRC, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania | 17 (35.6%) |
*2013 review included both policies and laws, while this review included only policies.7
†Findings identified in the context of this policy review.
‡Data reported in the UNAIDS National Commitments and Policy Instrument (2017, 2018 and 2019).
HTS, HIV testing services.