Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Malawi

Abstract

Some cultural beliefs and practices in the Malawi exacerbate young people’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. In some parts of the country, boys are encouraged to experiment having sexual intercourse in what is referred to as kuchotsa fumbi (removing dust) soon after initiation.

This places young men at risk of contracting STIs, because in most cases sexual intercourse does not involve the use of condoms. The emphasis on male aggression and female meekness in young people’s socialization puts young women at a disadvantage because it undermines women’s power to negotiate safer sex or contraceptive use; at the same time, young men feel justified in having multiple partners and sometimes forcing young women to have sex with them.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues in Malawi, with a focus on HIV prevention. It draws upon the existing body of social science research and includes both quantitative and qualitative studies. Its goal is to communicate key findings from existing research to a wide audience within the country. The specific objectives are: • to synthesize key findings from the studies that have been done on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Malawi; • to identify information gaps in order to inform the development of future research in this area; and • to highlight implications and priority areas to inform programs and policies and to improve the sexual and reproductive health of youth.

Some of the major findings from this study are that: • friends are the most common source of information on sex-related issues; • more than half of the respondents had had penetrative sex at the time of the survey; and • curiosity, enjoyment and pressure from friends were cited as reasons for engaging in premarital sex.

The study recommends, due to the complex relationship between sex and such contextual factors as individual desires, culture and socioeconomic factors, that there is need for a comprehensive strategy that will focus on key factors that contribute to HIV infection among young people.