PREGNANCY/STD PROTECTIVE MEANS USED BY HIV FEMALE SEX WORKERS IN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

SUMMARY: In 1988 and 1989, 2663 women in Addis Ababa and 6564 women in 23 other towns of the country practicing multi-partner sexual contacts (MPSC) were interviewed during seroprevalence surveys for HIV infection. Outside the capital city 42.2% (n=2771) of the women reported using oral contraceptives always or often and only 1.8% of all women in the study always or often used condoms. The results were similar in the capital city. The study indicated that condoms and spermicides known to protect from sexually transmitted disease (STD) and HIV infection were very rarely used by the females practicing MPSC in urban areas of Ethiopia. Since the use of condoms by the study groups was low in general, no significant difference in the frequencies of STD was found between females using them often and non-users. Immediate intensive actions should be directed at the provision of condoms and intensified education aimed at behavior change in order to decrease transmission of HIV.