Empowering Community Based Male Youth Groups to Address Alcohol Abuse in the Context of HIV/AIDS

摘要

Alcohol has been found to be related to unsafe sex, accidents, violence and loss of productivity. Adolescents who engage in other risk behaviors, such as alcohol and drugs, are more likely to initiate sexual intercourse too early (WHO, 2001). The correlation between alcohol abuse and a lifetime tendency toward high-risk sexual behaviors, including multiple sexual partners, unprotected intercourse, and the exchange of sex for money or drugs has been documented by some studies (Allen et ah, 1992; Bassett et al, 1994). In Zimbabwe, two studies have found that beer hall attendance alone was independently associated with HIV infection among men (Bassett et al, 1994) and that having sex while intoxicated in the previous six months was strongly associated with recent HIV seroconversion in male clients of beerhalls.