IRIN/PlusNews Examines Debate on the Impact of Concurrent Partners on HIV Transmission

Researchers have begun to "explore concurrency as a possible explanation for why parts of the continent have been so hard hit by HIV," however "not everyone in the scientific community accepts the theory," IRIN/PlusNews writes in an article that explores the concurrency debate in Africa. "While most Africans report similar numbers of partners over a lifetime as their Western counterparts, having long-term simultaneous relationships is thought to put them at much higher risk from HIV by placing them in overlapping sexual networks," the news service reports. The article quotes researchers on both sides of the debate as well as program implementers on the ground, who are "are mostly oblivious to or perplexed by the academic debate" (10/18). A separate IRIN/PlusNews article tracks the concurrent partner debate from 1982-2009 (10/18).

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