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There is a growing belief, sustained by the best evidence available, that MCPs are a primary driver of HIV transmissions in countries with high prevalence. MCP, defined as “relationships where an individual has two or more sexual partners that overlap in time,” allows for the rapid transmission of HIV through sexual networks. It does so by increasing the probability that an HIV-positive individual will engage in a sexual relationship with an HIV-negative individual when the former is at his or her period of greatest infectiousness
Addressing sexual behaviors will require the hard work of various partners, especially religious institutions
Even in the most remote areas of Africa, where the government and NGOs cannot reach, churches are present. This presence combined with the fact that when a church leader speaks, people tend to listen, points to the necessity of the church having a prominent role in any response that addresses the HIV epidemic.
However, if community leaders of faith are to impact the epidemic by affecting the behavior of their congregation or religious organizations, in addition to being a positive example, they must also have a clear understanding of MCP and a belief that change is possible. It is important to assess the attitudes and perceptions of church leaders in order to plan effective training that will maximize the positive impact of their influence.
Methodology
The survey is from a convenience sample of religious community members interested or active in the response to HIV and AIDS in Africa that were meeting at a conference in late 2008. Of the 68 surveys that were distributed to conference participants (all present at the conference at the time), 65 were returned to survey organizers.
The completed surveys were then used to populate an Excel spreadsheet, and all 65 observations were then checked against the original surveys. The Excel spreadsheet was exported to STATA and all the observations were checked against the Excel spreadsheet and 10 randomly selected observations were checked against their original paper survey.
The resulting data was checked for missingness, reliability and consistency. Frequency, bivariate and (in limited instances) multivariate analyses were employed to cull the information that follows.
Sample Characteristics
There were more than twice as many male (69.2 percent) as female (30.8 percent) respondents in the sample. Respondents ranged from 26 to 63 years of age, with a mean age of 44 years (median age: 45 years). With 6 respondents each from Burkina Faso and Senegal, 5 from Benin and 13 from other neighboring countries, western Africa was well represented in the sample. Nearly a quarter of respondents (15) were from member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). There were 12 respondents from east Africa (north of Tanzania). Of the non-African respondents, there were four participants from Denmark, three from the U.S. and one from Sweden.
Most respondents were married (81.2 percent) and resided in urban areas (67.7 percent). Just about half (50.8 percent) of the respondents were from mainline protestant churches (e.g., Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian), but evangelicals (e.g., Pentecostals) (33.8 percent) and Catholics (10.8 percent) were also represented. More than half (55.4 percent) of the respondents were representing a church or faith-based organization (FBO), while the rest were affiliated with either a nongovernmental organization (NGO) (32.3 percent) or a community-based organization (CBO) (12.3 percent). Nearly all the respondents went to religious services at least once per week: 35.4 percent attended more than once per week and another 55.4 percent attended on a weekly basis.
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