KENYA: Some stick to old sex habits despite HIV/AIDS

A significant number of Kenyans had not changed their sexual behaviour in spite of massive public awareness about HIV/AIDS, the ‘Daily Nation’ on Monday quoted a new survey as saying. The survey also highlighted a lack of HIV/AIDS awareness among teenagers, the newspaper report said. The national media survey, commissioned by the Media Institute - a Nairobi-based NGO, had found that 15.5 percent of teenagers were not aware of HIV/AIDS.

The report said the survey, in which 3,000 people were interviewed, showed that 91.7 percent of respondents were aware of the pandemic. However, 12.3 percent of the respondents said they had not changed their sexual behaviour, 38.6 percent of them had abstained from sex and 27.6 percent had reduced the number of sexual partners they had.

The survey found that religious bodies had not done enough to create awareness about HIV/AIDS. Churches and mosques were only responsible for creating awareness among 4.7 percent of respondents and radio was the main source of information on HIV/AIDS, the report said. It said that according to the survey, 41.1 percent of those interviewed said they had learned about the disease from radio.

According to the poll, an overwhelming majority of Kenyans did not want to be tested for HIV/AIDS and were divided on whether the government should introduce compulsory testing. Sixty five percent of respondents had not been tested for HIV/AIDS because of fears of death and stigmatisation, the report said.

In spite of the government’s decision to import 300 million condoms, the poll found that 54 percent of Kenyans believed condoms were not an effective measure to prevent HIV/AIDS. They believed condoms encouraged immorality, which exposed people to the risk of contracting the virus, the report said. The survey was commissioned by the Media Institute and carried out by Strategic Research and Public Relations with financial support from USAID, the report said.

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[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]