KAIS 2007 1 - Kenya National AIDS & STI Control Programme ...

Figure 6.3c. Women and men aged 15-64 years by number of sexual partners in the yearbefore the survey, Kenya 2007.807069.2WomenMen61.6Percent (Weighted %)6050403029.226.5Figure 6.3c. Mostwomen and menreported having one orno sexual partner in theyear prior to the survey.201009.81.52.10.20 partners 1 partner 2 partners 3 or more partnersNumber of partners in the year prior to the surveyWomen and men varied significantly by number of sexual partners in the year prior to the survey.Most respondents reported having one sexual partner in this time frame (69.2% for women and 61.6%for men). Significantly less women (1.7%) than men (11.9%) reported two of more partners in duringthis time.Concurrent PartnershipsDATA IN CONTEXTConcurrent partnerships are characterized by having multiple sexual partnerships that overlapin time, in contrast to engaging in partnerships that are sequential. Unprotected sex withinconcurrent partnerships allows HIV to spread rapidly through sexual networks, especiallyduring the short time following new infection (a few weeks to one month) when viral load ishigh and people are likely to transmit HIV. Concurrent sexual partnerships with low condomuse may expalin some of the spread of HIV in sub‐Saharan Africa.Measuring concurrent partnerships can be difficult in population‐based surveys as it requiresdetailed information on the timing of sexual activity with each partner. Having two or morepartners in the last year, while necessary for concurrency to occur, is not a perfect marker for thisbehaviour because the partnerships may not have overlapped in time. The 2007 KAIS wasunable to accurately assess sexual concurrency due to limitations in the survey questionnaire.KAIS 2007 99