A large number of urban men have two or more sexual partners, and more than 63 percent admit to regularly having unprotected intercourse, a survey has revealed.

According to a recent Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), 14 percent of men in 2015 admitted to having two or more sexual partners and having unprotected intercourse with them.

About 50 percent of women with two or more sexual partners also admitted to having unprotected sexual intercourse.

The survey showed that men between ages 30 and 49 were more likely to have unprotected sexual intercourse, with the percentage of condom use in the last sexual encounter being between 20,3 percent and 23,9 percent.

Harare had the highest number of men with multiple sexual partners with 17 percent of those interviewed admitting as much, while Manicaland province recorded the least number of men with two or more partners.

Bulawayo had the highest number of men who used protection in their last sexual encounter and Mashonaland Central anchored the statistics despite having many men with multiple partners.

The report, encouragingly, notes an overall increase in the number of men being tested for HIV and getting their results. Manicaland had the least number of males willing to go for HIV testing.

“More men than women report having two or more sexual partners, 14 percent and 1 percent, respectively,” part of the survey reads. “Among men, this is a small increase from the 2010-11 ZDHS where 11 percent of men reported having two or more sexual partners while among women, there was no notable change.

“Having multiple partners is slightly more common in urban settings. Among those reporting two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months, condom use at last sex was 50 percent for women and 37 percent for men.

“Men aged 15-19 were more likely to report condom use (71 percent) than men in other age groups. While 95 percent of men report knowing where to get an HIV test.

“Compared with women, men report lower levels of past HIV testing and receipt of their results (62 percent). ‘‘By province, similar to women, the lowest HIV testing coverage among men is observed in Manicaland 55 percent.

“Coverage of prior HIV testing has increased since the 2010-11 ZDHS. Among women, the percentage who were tested for HIV in the past 12 months and received the results has increased from 34 percent in 2010-11 to 49 percent in 2015.

“Among men, the percentage who were tested for HIV in the past 12 months and received the results has increased from 21 percent in the 2010-11 ZDHS to 36 percent in 2015.”
Director of Family Health in the Ministry of Health and Child, Dr Bernard Madzima, said unprotected sex remained a major cause for concern.

“Behaviour change, including condom use, has been one of the mainstays of the HIV programme amongst a host of other interventions which has seen the country HIV rates going down,” he said. “However this kind of behaviour remains risky.”

According to the latest Global Aids Progress Report, Zimbabwe’s HIV prevalence rate declined from 15,7 percent in 2011 to 13,8 in 2015 on the back of various Government strategies.

These include early adoption and implementation of the 2013 World Health Organisation guidelines on treatment and prevention, male circumcision, tuberculosis/HIV collaborative treatment, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Condom use has also played a big role in the declining HIV prevalence rate. The report shows that the number of people living with HIV increased from 1,35 million to 1,41 million more people accessed treatment. – State Media