The literature shows that divorced, separated, and
widowed individuals in Africa are at significantly
increased risk for HIV. Using nationally representative
data from 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, this
paper confirms that formerly married individuals are at
significantly higher risk for HIV. The study goes further
by examining individuals who have remarried. The results
show that remarried individuals form a large portion
This paper—a product of the Human Development and Public Services Team, Development Research Group—is part of a
larger effort in the department to understand the determinants of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Policy Research Working Papers
are also posted on the Web at http://econ.worldbank.org. The author may be contacted at ddewalque@worldbank.org.
of the population—usually larger than the divorced,
separated, or widowed—and that they also have higher
than average HIV prevalence. This large number of
high-risk remarried individuals is an important source
of vulnerability and further infection that needs to be
acknowledged and taken into account in prevention
strategies.