19 - Living Conditions in Migration and HIV-infection High-risk Behaviour among Internal Migrants in the River Senegal Valley
Corresponding Author(s) : Macoumba Thiam
CODESRIA Bulletin,
No. 02-03-04 (2003): CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 2, 3 & 4, 2003
Abstract
Studies on the spread of AIDS were quick to point to geographical mobility as one of the factors perpetuating the
spread of HIV (Hunt, 1989; Anarfi, 1993; Kane et al., 1993; Pison et al., 1993). In Sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV is
mainly transmitted by sexual intercourse, it is generally postulated that migrants tend to adopt high-risk sexual behaviour
at their place of destination, thereby exposing both the contact population and themselves to infection. It is also believed
that migrants continue with such behaviour on their return, aided by the force of attraction they exert on women of their
community, thanks to their income which is higher than that of non migrants (Anarfi, 1993; Chirwa, 1997). Migrants
pose an additional threat to their communities of origin because of the risk of infecting their spouses, thereby spreading
the disease within their extended families in situations where levirate and sororate are practiced1. One of the models
mentioned in the literature explains the greater propensity of migrants to adopt high-risk sexual behaviour through their
low perception of the risks and consequences inherent in their behaviour. This low perception, it would appear, results
from pre-migration factors which make them more daring (age, sex, marital status, education, etc.), factors resulting
from migration (separation from spouse or regular partner) and, finally, from the contact with a new environment
considered stressful and more sexually permissive (Brockerhoff and Biddlecom, 1998). This paper seeks to test this
model using the case of migrants from the River Senegal Valley, one of the high-mobility regions of the country and one
of the hardest-hit by the epidemic. In this regard, we will be looking at migration trends inside Senegal during the 1985
– 2000 period, that is, since the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in the country2. The paper rounds off by
examining the implications of the findings for research and prevention strategies.
Keywords
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- Anarfi, J. K., 1993, “Sexuality, Migration and Aids”, in Health Transition Review, Supplement to vol. 3 : 45-67.
- Bâ, C. O.,1996, « Dynamiques migratoires et chan- gements sociaux au sein des relations de genre et des rapports jeunes/vieux des originaires de la moyenne Vallée du fleuve Sénégal », Thèse de doc-The Problem hese last decades are witnessing the appearance in the world of a deadly, complex virus.
- Its consequences on the population are beyond telling: thousands of people dead, infected, affected.
- The efforts summoned to curb the spread of the virus in the so- cial fabric seem insignificant as compared with the enormity of the problem. In countries of the South, more than anywhere else, the death toll is unnerving. According to UNAIDS, 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world today.
- Five million of them contracted the virus in the course of last year. The epidemic continues to take a heavy toll on sub-Saharan Africa, with 29.4 million cases1.
- With respect to Burkina Faso, from ten cases in 1986, official statistics2 put the figure at 13,899 cases as of 30 June 1999, and today, the HIV prevalence rate is estimated at 7.17% of the general po- pulation (WHO/UNAIDS), that is, more than 370,000 people infected with HIV, about 7% of them being young adults from 15 to 40 years old… At this critical point in the spread of the scourge, it is, more than ever before, incumbent upon sociology to sound the best points of view to understand the social determinants which underpin this phenomenon. Yet this subject continues to puzzle scholars.
- In going through the extensive literature on the problem of AIDS in Africa, one is struck by the recurring question as to what scientific approach to adopt in the face of this research subject.
- From the epistemological standpoint, the demands of scientific rigour which lead to objectivization of objectivization (Bour- dieu P. 1980) are still topical. Such objectivisation raises the question of commitment and distance in the face of social realities as recommended by Elias and echoed by Fassin in another field Woumia Salomon Ouedraogo Department of Sociology Cheikh Anta Diop University Dakar, Senegal torat, Département d’Anthropologie, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Sénégal.
- Brockerhoff, M. and Biddlecom A., 1998, Migra- tion, Sexual Behavior and HIV Diffusion in Ke- nya.
- Policy Research Division Working Papers, No 111, Population Council, New-York.
- Chirwa, W. C., 1997, “Migrant labour, sexual networking and multi-partnered sex in Malawi”, in Health Transition Review, Supplement 3 to vol. 7: 5-15.
- Hunt, C. ,1989, “Migrant Labor and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: AIDS in Africa”, in Jour- nal of Health and Social Behavior, 30 (4): 353-373.
- Kane, F. et al., 1993, “Temporary Expatriation is related to HIV-1 infection in rural Senegal”, in AIDS, 7 : 1261-1265.
- Lalou, R. et Piché V., 1994, Migration et Sida en Afrique de l’Ouest : un état des connaissances.
- Les dossiers du CEPED No 28, Paris.
- Lurie, M. et al., 1997, “Circular migration and sexual networking in rural Kwa Zulu/Natal: im-plications for the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases”, in Health Tran- sition Review, Supplement 3 to vol. 7 : 17-27.
- Lydié, N. and Robinson N.J., 1998, “Migration and HIV/Aids in West and Central Africa”, in International Migration, 36 (4) : 469-511.
- ONUSIDA, 2000, Sénégal. Fiche épidémiologique sur le VIH/sida et les infections sexuellement trans-missibles. Mise-à-jour (2000) révisée, Genève, Suisse.
- (http://www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfo/statistics/fact_sheets/pdfs/Senegal_fr.pdf).
- Packard, R. M. and Epstein P., 1991, “Epidemiologists, Social Scientists, and the Struc- ture of Medical Research on AIDS in Africa”, in Social Science and Medicine 33 (7) : 771-794.
- Piché, V. et al., 2002, Mobilité, comportements sexuels à risque et sida dans la Vallée du fleuve Sénégal. Rapport d’analyse préliminaire. Mon- tréal Unpublished.
- Pison, G et al., 1993, “Seasonal migration: a risk factor for HIV infection in rural Senegal”, in Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syn- dromes 6 (2) :196200.
- Saez, C., 2002, Comportements sexuels et ris- que d’infection au VIH/sida chez les migrants Haalpulaar de la vallée du fleuve Sénégal. Mé- moire de maîtrise en santé publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, 156 + annexes.
- Seck, K., 2000, Présentation du Sénégal. Com- munication présentée à la Réunion internatio- nale consultative sur les priorités d’intervention en matière de VIH/sida en Afrique, Dakar du 27 au 29 septembre.
- Taverne, B., 1996, « Stratégie de communica- tion et stigmatisation des femmes : lévirat et sida au Burkina Faso » in Sciences Sociales et Santé 14 (2) : 88103.
References
Anarfi, J. K., 1993, “Sexuality, Migration and Aids”, in Health Transition Review, Supplement to vol. 3 : 45-67.
Bâ, C. O.,1996, « Dynamiques migratoires et chan- gements sociaux au sein des relations de genre et des rapports jeunes/vieux des originaires de la moyenne Vallée du fleuve Sénégal », Thèse de doc-The Problem hese last decades are witnessing the appearance in the world of a deadly, complex virus.
Its consequences on the population are beyond telling: thousands of people dead, infected, affected.
The efforts summoned to curb the spread of the virus in the so- cial fabric seem insignificant as compared with the enormity of the problem. In countries of the South, more than anywhere else, the death toll is unnerving. According to UNAIDS, 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world today.
Five million of them contracted the virus in the course of last year. The epidemic continues to take a heavy toll on sub-Saharan Africa, with 29.4 million cases1.
With respect to Burkina Faso, from ten cases in 1986, official statistics2 put the figure at 13,899 cases as of 30 June 1999, and today, the HIV prevalence rate is estimated at 7.17% of the general po- pulation (WHO/UNAIDS), that is, more than 370,000 people infected with HIV, about 7% of them being young adults from 15 to 40 years old… At this critical point in the spread of the scourge, it is, more than ever before, incumbent upon sociology to sound the best points of view to understand the social determinants which underpin this phenomenon. Yet this subject continues to puzzle scholars.
In going through the extensive literature on the problem of AIDS in Africa, one is struck by the recurring question as to what scientific approach to adopt in the face of this research subject.
From the epistemological standpoint, the demands of scientific rigour which lead to objectivization of objectivization (Bour- dieu P. 1980) are still topical. Such objectivisation raises the question of commitment and distance in the face of social realities as recommended by Elias and echoed by Fassin in another field Woumia Salomon Ouedraogo Department of Sociology Cheikh Anta Diop University Dakar, Senegal torat, Département d’Anthropologie, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Sénégal.
Brockerhoff, M. and Biddlecom A., 1998, Migra- tion, Sexual Behavior and HIV Diffusion in Ke- nya.
Policy Research Division Working Papers, No 111, Population Council, New-York.
Chirwa, W. C., 1997, “Migrant labour, sexual networking and multi-partnered sex in Malawi”, in Health Transition Review, Supplement 3 to vol. 7: 5-15.
Hunt, C. ,1989, “Migrant Labor and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: AIDS in Africa”, in Jour- nal of Health and Social Behavior, 30 (4): 353-373.
Kane, F. et al., 1993, “Temporary Expatriation is related to HIV-1 infection in rural Senegal”, in AIDS, 7 : 1261-1265.
Lalou, R. et Piché V., 1994, Migration et Sida en Afrique de l’Ouest : un état des connaissances.
Les dossiers du CEPED No 28, Paris.
Lurie, M. et al., 1997, “Circular migration and sexual networking in rural Kwa Zulu/Natal: im-plications for the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases”, in Health Tran- sition Review, Supplement 3 to vol. 7 : 17-27.
Lydié, N. and Robinson N.J., 1998, “Migration and HIV/Aids in West and Central Africa”, in International Migration, 36 (4) : 469-511.
ONUSIDA, 2000, Sénégal. Fiche épidémiologique sur le VIH/sida et les infections sexuellement trans-missibles. Mise-à-jour (2000) révisée, Genève, Suisse.
(http://www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfo/statistics/fact_sheets/pdfs/Senegal_fr.pdf).
Packard, R. M. and Epstein P., 1991, “Epidemiologists, Social Scientists, and the Struc- ture of Medical Research on AIDS in Africa”, in Social Science and Medicine 33 (7) : 771-794.
Piché, V. et al., 2002, Mobilité, comportements sexuels à risque et sida dans la Vallée du fleuve Sénégal. Rapport d’analyse préliminaire. Mon- tréal Unpublished.
Pison, G et al., 1993, “Seasonal migration: a risk factor for HIV infection in rural Senegal”, in Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syn- dromes 6 (2) :196200.
Saez, C., 2002, Comportements sexuels et ris- que d’infection au VIH/sida chez les migrants Haalpulaar de la vallée du fleuve Sénégal. Mé- moire de maîtrise en santé publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, 156 + annexes.
Seck, K., 2000, Présentation du Sénégal. Com- munication présentée à la Réunion internatio- nale consultative sur les priorités d’intervention en matière de VIH/sida en Afrique, Dakar du 27 au 29 septembre.
Taverne, B., 1996, « Stratégie de communica- tion et stigmatisation des femmes : lévirat et sida au Burkina Faso » in Sciences Sociales et Santé 14 (2) : 88103.