Hiv in Africa

I recently read a article saying most(70%?) Hivs in Africa are heterosexual as compared to westen/asian country where most ppl got it are drug users..  Any reason behind?

[chilly willy]

I think because there is more poverty and  there are more woman that  prostitute daily as a part of daily life.

[NeuroWoman]

Yes, poverty is a factor and yet, it is an oversimplification to say that more women prostitute daily; Africa is a vast continent with myriad countries, cultures, languages, religions and dialects.

It is not without merit and yet, it is more complex than this: transactional/survival sex and/or sex work is not unique to the African continent.

I think it is a combo of the fact that:

- women have less control over matters regarding sex: they are not in a position to insist on condoms.
- condoms are not as accessible
- condoms aren't affordable: Uganda experimented with making condoms widely available and affordable and doing an 'ABC' campaign. The government got behind it and I believe the President's wife was the biggest supporter.
- political instability in some countries leads to increase in rape; makes meds and educational info  and services even less available.  
- (some) cultures support polygamy and/or a man inheriting his deceased brother's wife: you can see how this can be a powder keg.
- lack of Anti-retroviral Drugs: People are more likely to progress from HIV to 'full-blown AIDS' (this term is not really used anymore but it is immediately understood which is why I am using it)
- People who are not taking ARTs often have increased viral loads which means they transmit the virus even more readily.
- is sex work a factor? Yes, just as it is in this country. That said, I believe the above-mentioned reasons are much more salient. Africa is a continent not a country. And we need to be very careful about making African women = prostitution.

[Xhost]

Excellent read, thank you for the analysis. Makes sense to me, anyway.

[troggs]

  Condoms are somewhat scarce in Africa, even in 2007 from what i've read. Can you imagine if for the most part you did not have the option of protecting yourself during intercourse simply because there were no condoms availible? Regardless of the risk, people are going to have sex, why are condoms not widley availible is puzzling to sa the least.

[POKOYO]

Thanks. I agreed it's much more complicated than one thought. The awareness too plays a major part.

[Bigtin]

Note that those stats are counting total number of infections by category regardless of number of exposures. In any population there are at least 10 times more hetrosexual contacts than homosexual contacts or IV risks...so it makes sense.

[troggs]

  What American city has the most hiv cases?