Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Zambia
  • News

Traditional leaders get tough HIV/AIDS

    JOHANNESBURG
    Traditional leaders in central Zambia on Monday banned cultural practices they said were fuelling the spread of HIV/AIDS in their chiefdoms. Sex-related rites such as early marriage, incest, sexual cleansing and the use of sexual potency herbs were among the list of outlawed customs. The country has an adult prevalence rate of 16 percent. Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted senior chief Mukuni Ngombe as saying, "We have a problem as per our tradition, where we are allowed to marry up to 10 wives - let us stop this trend now as HIV/AIDS is wiping us out." High-risk traditional practices have now been banned in two of Zambia's nine provinces so far.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join