Young people, aged 16–24, in southern Malawi have high uptake of HIV self-testing (HIVST) but low rates of linking to services following HIVST, especially in comparison, to older generations. The study aim is to explore the barriers and facilitators to linkage for HIV prevention and care following uptake of HIV self-testing among young Malawians.
This paper is part of a series of articles from BMC Infectious Diseases Volume 22 Supplement 1: Innovating with HIV self-testing for impact in Southern Africa: Lessons learned from the STAR (Self-Testing AfRica) Initiative. This supplement is a collaborative effort between Population Services International (PSI), the World Health Organization, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and other members of the STAR Consortium. It presents significant achievements and insights gained from the introduction, scale-up, and optimization of self-testing.