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Article History

Received: 3 January 2024

Accepted: 21 May 2024

First Online: 6 June 2024

Declarations

:

: Informed assent/consent was obtained from all participants, and consent was obtained from their parents or legal guardians (for those below age 18) before the start of the survey following WHO guidelines []. Parents and guardians were informed about the sensitive nature of questions their child would be asked, but not the entire nature of the survey, following best practices of interviewing minors []. This approach aims to safeguard participants from any potential negative consequences arising from their involvement in the survey []. With caregivers’ consent, participants were interviewed in a private space (inside or outside their homes where they could not be heard by anyone else) and were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the survey without any consequences. Trained data collectors conducted the survey, and the confidentiality of the participants was maintained throughout the survey process. The data collected in the survey were de-identified and securely curated to protect the participants’ privacy, thus not requiring further ethical clearance for this secondary data analysis. The protocol was reviewed and approved by the Research and Ethics Committee at the Lesotho Ministry of Health and the CDC and Columbia University Institutional Review Boards.

: Not applicable.

: We have read the journal’s policy, and the authors of this manuscript have no competing interests to disclose.