Sexual Behavior of Young Adults in Mozambique

Leo Morris, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Arao Balate, Instituto Nacional de Estatistica
Ndola Prata, University of California at Berkeley
Elisio Maslive, Instituo Nacional de Estatistica

A Young Adult Reproductive Health and Behavioral Risk Survey was conducted in 2001 in a national household sample with 5,342 interviews of females (87% response rate) and 5,140 of males (81%). 79% of female respondents report sexual experience with 72% of them reporting pre-union experience; 74% of young adult men have had sexual experience and almost all report pre-union experience. About two-thirds of sexually experienced unmarried females and almost 90% of males had sexual relations in the last three months; 26% of females used condoms and 23% of males used condoms, up from 2% and 7%, respectively, in 1997. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS is somewhat improved (79%) but about the same as reported in 1997. Less than 5% of females and less than 8% of males could spontaneously name one of three possible means of MCT transmission. Only 21% of females and 38% of males know where to get HIV tests.