Malawi 2015-16

Forty-two percent of women and 41% of men who
had an STI or STI symptoms sought advice or
treatment from a clinic, hospital, private doctor, or
other health professional (Figure 13.9). Two percent
of women and 3% of men sought advice or treatment
from a shop or pharmacy, while 8% of women and
5% of men sought advice or treatment from any
other source. However, 48% of women and 52% of
men did not seek any advice or treatment.
Figure 13.9 Women and men seeking
treatment for STIs
Percentage of women and men age 15-49
reporting an STI or symptoms of an STI in
the past 12 months who sought advice or
treatment from:
Clinic/hospital/
private doctor/other
health professional
42
41
13.9 HIV/AIDS-RELATED KNOWLEDGE
AND BEHAVIOUR AMONG YOUNG
PEOPLE
This section addresses HIV/AIDS-related knowledge
among young people age 15-24 and also assesses the
extent to which young people are engaged in
behaviours that may place them at risk of contracting
HIV.
Shop/pharmacy
Any other source
No advice or
treatment
2
3
8
5
Women
Men
48
52
13.9.1 Knowledge
Knowledge of HIV transmission enables people to avoid HIV infection. This is especially true for young
people, who are often at greater risk because they may have shorter relationships with more partners or
engage in other risky behaviours.
In Malawi, 41% of young women and 44% of young men have comprehensive knowledge of HIV, which
includes knowing that consistent use of condoms during sexual intercourse and having just one uninfected
faithful partner can reduce the chance of getting HIV, knowing that a healthy-looking person can have
HIV, and rejecting the two most common local misconceptions about HIV transmission (Table 13.11).
Trends: The percentage of young women and men with comprehensive knowledge about HIV has
remained essentially the same between 2010 and 2015-16; 42% versus 41% among young women and
45% versus 44% among men.
Patterns by background characteristics
• Comprehensive knowledge about HIV is lowest among women and men age 15-17; 37% of women
age 15-17 and 40% of men age 15-17 have comprehensive knowledge compared with 41% women
and 48% of men age 18-19 (Table 13.11).
• Young women and men in urban areas are more likely than their counterparts in rural areas to have
comprehensive knowledge about HIV; 47% of young women and 54% of young men in urban areas
have comprehensive knowledge about HIV compared with 40% of young women and 42% young men
in rural areas.
• The data indicate that comprehensive HIV knowledge increases with increasing education. Sixty-eight
percent of young women with more than secondary education have comprehensive knowledge about
HIV compared with 27% of young women with no education. Among young men with more than
secondary education, 72% had comprehensive knowledge about HIV compared with18% of those with
no education.
HIV/AIDS-related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviour • 209