People with higher education, jobs face greater risk of HIV infection, says study

Men aged between 15 and 64 have more sexual partners in their lifetime compared to women of the same age, according to a survey meant to track the country’s HIV trends.

This, according to the survey, puts men at greater risk of contracting Aids even when the partnerships are not concurrent.

The study shows that HIV prevalence rises with increasing number of partners among both men and women, meaning that those who have had more sexual encounters are at greater risk.

According to the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, 40 per cent of men have four or more sexual partners in their lifetime, compared to 10 per cent for women of the same age. Some men could have 10 or more. “HIV prevalence was highest among women reporting 10 or more lifetime sexual partners and men reporting six to nine lifetime sexual partners,” the survey says

The report shows that HIV prevalence was lowest among women and men reporting no primary education.

Among women, HIV prevalence was highest among those reporting secondary or higher education. Among men, HIV prevalence was highest among those who had completed primary education.

Among workers, HIV prevalence among adults and adolescents who were currently employed was significantly higher than among the unemployed. Current employment was defined as having worked in the week prior to the survey.

HIV prevalence appeared to be higher among women and men who were currently employed (8.5 per cent for women; 4.7 per cent men) than among the unemployed (5.9 per cent for women and 3.8 per cent for men).

HIV prevalence was significantly higher among women compared with men for both currently employed and unemployed.

CONCURRENT PARTNERS

According to the study released by Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia last week, one in every 10 married men reported at least one non-marital sexual partnership in the year before the survey.

Among all adults and adolescents who were sexually active in the 12 months before the survey, men reported that they were seven times engaged in sex with concurrent partners.

In the 12 months preceding the latest survey, 2.2 per cent of women and 14.2 per cent of men said they had had more than one sexual partner. The report shows that condom use levels were low with partners of unknown HIV status, with only 22.5 per cent of women and 33.2 per cent of men reporting condom use in casual partnerships.

“Women who were currently married (either monogamous or polygamous) reported very low levels of sexual partnerships outside of the marriage,” the report says.

Among women who had never married or cohabited, 80.9 per cent reported having at least one non-marital or non-cohabiting sex partner, an indication that extramarital relationships were not common among women.

The survey says that 10.4 per cent of married men in monogamous relationships had reported one or more partnerships outside their marriages, compared to 11.4 per cent of polygamous men. Among men who had never married or cohabited, 94.2 per cent reported having at least one non-married or non-cohabiting partner.

Among persons who were sexually active in the past 12 months before the survey, a higher proportion of men than women reported concurrent partnerships.

Individuals who were married in polygamous relationships were more likely to report concurrent relationships, compared to those married in monogamous relationships and widows. Those who had neither married nor cohabited and those who had separated or divorced were also more likely to report concurrent relationships compared to those in monogamous marriages.

Prevalence of concurrent partnerships was highest among those who were married in a polygamous relationships.

Among persons who had never been married or never cohabited, 15.4 per cent had concurrent partnerships, and 14.2 per cent of those who were separated or divorced had concurrent partnerships while those in monogamous marital relationships reported the lowest prevalence of sexual concurrency at 4.7 per cent.

Last week,  Mr Macharia, said despite the fall in HIV prevalence, 100,000 people were getting infected each year, including 13,000 children.

More than half of the new cases occurred among people aged between 25 to 34 years.

“The results confirm that HIV still remains a significant challenge in Kenya. For us to realise an Aids-free generation, we must place the utmost priority on the prevention of new cases. Infected individuals should be identified to ensure universal treatment,” he said.

The study showed that the rate of HIV infection among men (aged 15 to 64 years) who are uncircumcised was five times higher than that of those who were circumcised.

Male circumcision increased from 85 per cent in 2007 to 91.2 per cent in 2012. Nyanza recorded the highest rise over the past five years at 18.1 per cent, according to the survey.