Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
TRANSACTIONAL sexual relationships are rampant in tertiary institutions and have caused an upsurge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
This was revealed by a National Aids Council official at an Editors media tour of the provinces recently.
Speaking at a Press briefing prior to the media tour, National Aids Council Masvingo provincial manager Mr Edgar Muzulu said the issue of transactional sex at tertiary institutions was worrying.
He said the issue was mainly caused by the socio-economic problems faced by college and university students.
“Another worrying issue is low condom uptake among college and university students as they are often lured with more money and other fringe benefits for unsafe sex,” said Mr Muzulu.
He said the current economic situation forced some students to venture into sex work for money for their financial needs.
“Students, particularly young women, often exchange sexual services for money and other goodies as a measure of survival on campus. This has caused the rise in STI prevalence amongst youths,” he said.
“It should be noted that STIs are a proxy to HIV, therefore as such, we are worried by the high number of STIs that continue to be recorded as they work against our intervention efforts.”
Last month, the National Aids Council announced that at least 45 percent of university students, especially women, would be HIV positive by the time they graduate. Statistics indicate that among young women, HIV prevalence increases with age, with 2,7 percent of women aged 15-17 living with HIV, increasing to 13,9 percent among women aged 23-24 years.
Among young men, HIV prevalence holds steady at around 2,5 percent until the age of 23-24 when it increases to 6 percent. – @andile_tshuma
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