Study: Most widows got HIV after burying their husbands
A study conducted in Siaya County, Kenya, suggests that a significant portion of HIV-positive widows may have contracted the virus after their husbands' deaths rather than from them. The findings challenge traditional assumptions and highlight the ongoing risk of HIV exposure through cultural practices.
Why it matters
The study provides critical data for public health officials to rethink HIV prevention strategies and support systems for widows.
Researchers assumed that people are usually diagnosed two to five years after they actually get infected.
Experts are challenging the long-held belief that widows living with HIV mostly contracted the virus from their husbands before they died.
A new study suggests at least a third, and possibly more than half, of widows living with HIV in one high-prevalence area may have acquired the virus after becoming widows.
The study, conducted in Gem subcounty, Siaya county, examined 480 widows. Of these, 178, or 37.1 per cent, were living with HIV.
Researchers led by Dr Jackline Odhiambo, founder and executive director of Nyanam Widows Rising, found 168 HIV-positive widows had medical records showing when they were diagnosed.
Of these, 67.9 per cent were diagnosed after they became widows.
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