A Tale of Two Countries: HIV Among Core Groups in Togo

Article by Sobéla F., Pépin J., Gbéléou S, Banla A. K., Pitche V. P., Adom W., Sodji D., Frost E., Deslandes S. and Labbé A-C., in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Volume 51, Number 2, June 1, 2009, pp 216-223.

As part of an intervention aiming to reduce HIV transmission among core groups in Togo, the authors performed surveys of sex workers and their clients, initially in Lome (in 2003) and then in the whole country (in 2005), enabling them to describe the epidemiology of HIV among these vulnerable populations. This is the first study attempting to quantify sex work at a national level in an African country. One of their main findings is that there are differences in the dynamics of sex work and its contribution to HIV transmission between the capital city and the rest of the country. In Lome approximately one third of prevalent cases of HIV among men were acquired during transactional sex, whereas outside Lome, the contribution of transactional sex seems marginal. (adapted from the author)