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Urbanisation, Poverty and Sexual Behaviour

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  • Meredith J. Greif
  • F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo
  • Anuja Jayaraman

Abstract

The question of how urbanisation and poverty are linked in sub-Saharan Africa is an increasingly pressing one. The urban character of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa exacerbates concern about the urbanisation–poverty relationship. Recent empirical work has linked urban poverty, and particularly slum residence, to risky sexual behaviour in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. This paper explores the generalisability of these assertions about the relationship between urban poverty and sexual behaviour using Demographic and Health Survey data from five African cities: Accra (Ghana), Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Harare (Zimbabwe), Kampala (Uganda) and Nairobi (Kenya). The study affirms that, although risky behaviour varies across the five cities, slum residents demonstrate riskier sexual behaviour compared with non-slum residents. There is earlier sexual debut, lower condom usage and more multiple sexual partners among women residing in slum households regardless of setting, suggesting a relatively uniform effect of urban poverty on sexual risk behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Meredith J. Greif & F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo & Anuja Jayaraman, 2011. "Urbanisation, Poverty and Sexual Behaviour," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(5), pages 947-957, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:48:y:2011:i:5:p:947-957
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098010368575
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mark Montgomery & Paul Hewett, 2005. "Urban poverty and health in developing countries: Household and neighborhood Effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 42(3), pages 397-425, August.
    2. Dodoo, F. Nii-Amoo & Zulu, Eliya M. & Ezeh, Alex C., 2007. "Urban-rural differences in the socioeconomic deprivation-Sexual behavior link in Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(5), pages 1019-1031, March.
    3. Fay, Marianne & Opal, Charlotte, 2000. "Urbanization without growth : a not-so-uncommon phenomenon," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2412, The World Bank.
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    1. Rosina Wanyama & Theda Gödecke & Matin Qaim, 2019. "Food Security and Dietary Quality in African Slums," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Mmari, Kristin & Blum, Robert & Sonenstein, Freya & Marshall, Beth & Brahmbhatt, Heena & Venables, Emily & Delany-Moretlwe, Sinead & Lou, Chaohua & Gao, Ershang & Acharya, Rajib & Jejeebhoy, Shireen &, 2014. "Adolescents' perceptions of health from disadvantaged urban communities: Findings from the WAVE study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 124-132.

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