HIV This Week

Coast E. Local understandings of, and responses to, HIV: Rural-urban migrants in Tanzania. Soc Sci Med. 2006 May 16; [Epub ahead of print]. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02779536

Migration is an important process of change for rural populations in developing countries. By their very act of migrating, migrants are different from those who do not migrate. Coast studied how the sexual behaviour of rural-urban migrants differs from that of rural residents, how HIV knowledge levels vary between rural-urban migrants and rural residents, and what factors are associated with either intentions of behaviour change or reported behaviour? The analysis compared individual-level analyses of two populations, one (composed of recent rural-urban migrants) in an urban area and one made up of residents in a rural area. Detailed migration histories (N = 96 rural-urban migrants) and in-depth interviews form the basis of the analysis. The results are counter-intuitive: rural-urban migrants (both married and unmarried) are not having sex in town. Despite limited understanding of the nature of HIV, the migrant population studied here regulates its behaviour in a way that reflects local understandings of the disease. This finding is important, not least because it challenges the view that HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is largely transmitted to rural areas by return migrants. Maasai rural-urban migrants in Tanzania (both married and unmarried) are not having sex in town. The author goes on to explore the policy and service provision implications of the results.