Mombasa diary | Fishing for trouble

Fishing in Kenya occurs only at night, as fishermen prepare to sell the fish to mamakaranga – women who will later fry the fish up to sell. However these women do not always have enough money to pay for the fish and will sell their bodies in exchange for the only way for them to earn a living.

The 900-strong group of fishermen that live off the sea in Mombasa have become so accustomed to this way of life that even if the women have money to buy the fish they often refuse as they would rather exchange the fish for sexual favours.

HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is a major killer, with 7.4% of the population in Kenya being infected. In Mombasa the statistic is higher at 8.1%. Although the incidence of HIV among fishermen is lower than the national and provincial average at 4.5%, the nature of their work puts them at an extremely high risk.

As the mamakaranga are usually married they then take the disease home and infect their partners spreading the disease further.

The German Foundation for World Population (DSW), a partner of the Maltese charitable institution SOS Malta, has begun an outreach programme aimed at this high risk group with the aim of reducing infectious HIV in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

The programme has been successful so far in that a group that was previously unaware of the risks they were taking are now more aware of the spread of HIV and how their practices put them in danger and are even interested in taking HIV tests.

People at risk can be tested at DSW offices or their mobile units which are taken out to areas populated by the fisher folk. People testing positive can then be referred to comprehensive care centres where they will be administered antiretroviral medication. In the event they test negative DSW provides education to ensure that future test results stay negative.