HIV/AIDS information campaigns not reaching young men

Poor, less educated young Zambian men are falling through the cracks of the country's HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, giving rise to misconceptions and folk beliefs about the disease. A Population Services International (PSI) study of young Zambian males who have dropped out of school revealed that their risk perception of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was low, due to incorrect information and denial. Although the study's participants demonstrated a wide range of knowledge about the disease, they often mixed correct information with misconceptions, the study found. "Folk explanations linking HIV infection to the strength of individuals' blood, menstruation or sorcery were common." "There is a belief that the [HI] virus is removed from the girl's body through menstruation - because the virus is found in the blood," PSI research analyst Nkenda Sachingongu, told PlusNews. The men interviewed in the study had all left school early and were living in the poorer areas of the country's capital, Lusaka. Overall, the importance of consistent condom use with all sexual partners was not recognised by the respondents. "This is partly because they don't see the need for condoms. They think condoms are meant for adults and not them," Sachingongu explained. Although the study was conducted on a small scale, it raised issues about whether this group had been "left out" of youth awareness and education campaigns, he noted. Recent studies had pointed to a decline in HIV prevalence among urban youth, but a less dramatic decline was reported among the poor and less educated. "This group is more at risk. They are not educated and can't speak English, but most awareness programmes don't include them," Sachingongu added. Consequently, almost all participants in the study reported obtaining information about sexual matters indirectly from friends or family members through overheard conversations and gossip. "The quality of materials in local languages is very poor, they use long words which people don't use - especially young people. This merely compounds the problem," Masuka Mutenda, media coordinator and programme manager of Trendsetters, a youth sexual health newspaper, told PlusNews. Although there was "little" targeting less educated youth, campaign organisers had to realise that "they can't and won't reach everybody," she said. "Young people in Zambia are not homogenous, they can't be lumped together." Mutenda called for more research into the lifestyles of different youth groups before embarking on any awareness initiatives. UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) country representative Dr Stella Goings admitted that misinformation about the disease led to "a number of problems, such as sexual assault on young girls". "Sadly there a lot of myths about what you can do to prevent HIV/AIDS, but this is not a uniquely Zambian problem," Goings said. Most of the country's awareness campaigns were "trying to comprehensively cover all youth and not leave out any groups". "There is a big difference between urban and rural areas and most projects have taken this into account - there are different strategies for different groups," Goings noted.