Transactional sex is not sex work but refers to non-marital, non-commercial sexual relationships motivated by an implicit assumption that sex will be exchanged for material support or other benefits. Most women and men involved in transactional sex relationships consider themselves as partners or lovers rather than sellers or buyers. Conflating transactional sex and sex work in intervention design and funding may be counterproductive, as interventions designed for sex workers will not reach people engaged in transactional sex.

Knowing your HIV status can lead to earlier treatment and prevent sickness. Many people have approached me asking how one can tell if “they have HIV”. I am always taken aback by such questions. Like, what? In 2022? Really? Anyway, the answer is simple. Unlike yester years where certain symptoms pointed to this and that, recently many diseases have similar symptoms, like we saw with COVID-19 presenting flu-like symptoms. It usually isn’t easy to tell whether one has simple flu or it is COVID-19. This therefore makes it very difficult to tell whether it is this disease and not the other. Which is why the only way to find out whether you are HIV positive or not, is to take an HIV test. The same way we take a COVID test to allay fears and clear all suspicion.

Last year the Eswatini HIV Recent Incidence Surveillance (EHRIS), gave alarming results about 10 Tinkhundla which had the highest increase in new HIV infections. This became a cause for concern for the multisectoral HIV response as new infections were higher among adolescent girls and young women. Without a doubt, this means this population is engaging in unprotected sex thereby posing a huge risk to HIV acquisition.