Reproductive health and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Problems and prospects.

The significant slowdown in the rate of HIV/AIDS spread in developed countries is not mirrored in other regions of the world especially Asia and Africa. In neither region are the dominant modes of transmission related as in developed countries to men having sex with men (MSM) injecting drug use or blood transfusions; rather transmission is mainly through heterosexual intercourse-- at higher risk where there is an existing sexually transmitted disease (STD)-- and mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The essentials for proper prevention therefore are not just information about marital sexual behavior inside and outside marriage but also the prevalence of STDs peoples own serostatus awareness breastfeeding practices couples fertility goals and possible contraceptive practices. Annabel Desgrees du Lou reviews the available literature on these issues in the African setting. (authors)