A different kind of“mosquito”
on A Serendipitous Journey (Kenya), 01/May/2009 05:25, 34 days ago
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At almost every bar and night club in Nairobi, foreign men in particular will find themselves surrounded by local young women. Some dressed very scantily, others modestly and yet others fashionably, these young women have been named“mosquitoes” by some groups of foreign men “because they just buzz around” wherever they are.This term actually refers to prostitutes– and there are a whopping 7,000 of them in Nairobi’s Central Business District alone.(1)A new STD clinic(2)has been opened in the area which offers free testing counseling and treatment to this group and about 6,000 prostitutes have been tested.- 34% are HIV positive (about 4 times the national average)- 60% either have a husband or steady boyfriend who is not aware they are prostitutes. (Also meaning it is unlikely the couple is using condoms, despite the women’s ‘extracurricular’ activities)(1)Daily Nation. -“7,000 prostitutes in Nairobi every night” April 30, 2009. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/592520/-/u65mk2/-/index.html(2)An initiative by the National Aids and STDs Control Programme, universities of Nairobi and Manitoba in Canada.
