Sexual networking in Freetown against the background of the AIDS epidemic

Abstract

West Africa, since the discovery of the HIV virus, has remained relatively unperturbed by the attendant AIDS epidemic sweeping through the other portions of the continent south of Sahara. The low level, of both the reported and the diagnosed cases of the epidemic at the onset, seem to explain the initial lukewarm and sometimes cynical attitude on the part of both the government and the populace. In recent times, however, emerging revelations from research on sexual behaviour in the region seem to be generating greater concerns about the possibility of continued containment of this scourge. So in many West African countries efforts are being made to generate baseline data to help in assessing the risk of this epidemic, given the background knowledge of the sexual behavioural correlates of AIDS gained elsewhere. However, not all the strategic points in this region have had such an inventory carried out or reported. Not only does Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, fall into this category, it is also confronted with certain challenges at the regional level, as well as some internal peculiarities which underscore the need for the present inventory.