COUPLES AT GREATER RISK OF HIV INFECTION

Married couples are one of the groups at greatest risk of contracting the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic, the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Executive Director, Dr Fatma Mrisho has said. Launching a new HIV/AIDS campaign know as ‘OneLove’ championed by the Femina Health Information Project (Femina HIP) in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Dr Mrisho said couples who were unfaithful to one other stood higher chances of transmitting the disease to the partner. “This campaign has come at an appropriate time when there’s urgent need to educate the public about the importance of having one partner who is safe and trustworthy to reduce the transmission rate,” said Dr Mrisho. She said that surveys had indicated that transmission of the pandemic was highly caused by casual unprotected sex as well as unfaithfulness among couples and permanent partners. She said that the survey carried countrywide early this year by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that about 93 per cent of Tanzania’s women aged 15-49 years were familiar with the fact that having sex with a person who was not infected was the protective way. She said that the survey also indicates that last year the percentage of women (aged between 15 and 49 years) who had sex with more than one man was 4 per cent, adding that percentage for the men stood at 25 for the same age group.

Femina HIP Executive Director, Dr Minou Fuglesang said that a study conducted in the country shows that many people were engaging in multiple sexual partnership, thus exposing themselves to risk of HIV infections. Dr Fuglesang said early this year Femina had commissioned the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dar es Salaam to conduct the research at Morogoro and Iringa and came up with data indicating that many people still had multiple partners. Femina HIP is a multimedia, civil society initiative working with youth, communities and strategic partners across Tanzania to promote healthy lifestyles, HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual health, gender equality and civic education.
Written by MARY GWERA.