KENYA: Poor HIV-Aids education for students

The majority of university students in Kenya are sexually active but less than half of them use condoms for protection against HIV-Aids infection, a new study has reported, writes Alex Ndirangu for The East African. The study found that 70% of students were sexually active and only 45% of that group used condoms.

The study was conducted by the I Choose Life organisation, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAid). It reported that 35% of male and about 20% of female students had between two and five sexual partners, that a third of students were unlikely to abstain from sex in the next three months and that 40% of sexually active students did not know their HIV status.

The research was carried out using a sample of 1,300 students from the University of Nairobi and the United States International University. It projected similar trends and student behaviour in all tertiary institutions in Kenya. It called for rapid implementation of education to prevent HIV infection and unintended pregnancies.
Full report on The East African site