| Guinea, West Africa has an estimated HIV prevalence of between 1.5 and 3.2%. This figure is among the lowest in the region and on the continent. Though Guinea has low HIV rates, it also has many of the same traits that correlate with high HIV infection rates elsewhere. For example, typically when male labor migrants are away from home for long periods of time, they engage in unprotected, multi-partner sex with prostitutes, rapidly facilitating the transmission of HIV. In Guinea, mining accounts for approximately 70% of exports, and the mines attract thousands of labor migrants from across the country and from neighboring countries. Yet these mining regions have the lowest HIV rates in the country. My study offers cultural and behavioral explanations for this phenomenon. My data shows that faithfulness to one's sexual partner or partners was the most widely-practiced HIV prevention strategy, and short-term marriage is one cultural expression of this sexual partner reduction. |
