Sex Differentials in the Determinants of the Multiple Lifetime Sexual Partners among Young People in South Africa

Germinah Motshegwa, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus)

A high number of sexual partners a person has in their lifetime can contribute to the high prevalence of the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed factors influencing the multiple lifetime sexual partners among young people and used data extracted from the 2016 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used for analysis. The bivariate results show that more males (80.5%) than females (58.5%) have multiple lifetime sexual partners. The binary logistic regression results revealed that females (3.75 ([95% CI 2.906-4.827]) and males (3.66 ([95% CI 2.006-6.666]) aged 20-24 years had higher odds of having more lifetime sexual partner as compared to those aged 15-19 years. At this rate which young people continue having multiple lifetime sexual partnerships, the opposite of the ambition of the 90-90-90 strategy could be the outcome where HIV infections could increase instead of decline.