This archive report was first published on 13 July 2019.
Published on July 13, 2019, a study in Kenya has highlighted a sobering reminder of the devastating STI crisis facing girls and women of reproductive age.
According to the ECHO study, one in five women had chlamydia, a third had genital herpes (HSV-2), and nearly 5 per cent had gonorrhoea. These infections can cause significant health problems if not treated.
The study, which involved 7,829 women in Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, and Eswatini, sought to answer a public health question about the use of the injectable contraceptive Depo Provera by women in areas with HIV prevalence.
The study found that the risk of HIV infection among women using Depo, Copper IUDs, or Levonorgestrel Implant was not significantly different. However, the study also found a high HIV incidence of 3.8 per cent among study participants overall.
Sexually active women can choose various methods to prevent HIV and other STIs, but clearly, these methods are not working. To change this, we need to integrate family planning and STI prevention services in our health system.
As novelist Chimamanda Adichie once said, there is the danger of a single story. A single story that promotes family planning alone, or HIV/STI prevention alone is dangerous to the lives of young girls and women.
