AIDS, Mobility and Commercial Sex in Ethiopia: Implications for Policy

Abstract

Since the emergence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic across sub-Saharan Africa, research has emphasised sex work as one aspect of risky sexual behaviour through which the epidemic escalates (Kishindo 1995, Walden et al. 1999, Gysels et al. 2001, Varga 2001). Male mobility has been highlighted as one of the key vehicles for transmission, with men employing the services of sex workers while away from home. In particular, the literature has concentrated on employment-related migration between urban and rural areas, truck drivers travelling along trading routes between major ports and cities and soldiers engaging with sex workers while stationed away from home (Omara-Otunnu 1987, Wood 1988, Cohen 1999, Larson 1990, Gysels et al. 2001). This focus on mobility and AIDS has, however, largely ignored female mobility. One exception is Zuma et al. (2003), who found that migrant women in South Africa were more likely than non-migrant women to engage in risky sexual behaviour, have lower condom use and higher HIV rates.

Based on a paper first published in AIDS Care 19(1) (January 2007): 79–86.