AI Insight
This cross-sectional study of 499 women informal cross-border traders at COMESA Market in Lusaka, Zambia found that 67.7% were classified as high-risk for risky sexual behaviour. Women using personal savings for start-up capital and those with 5-9 years trading experience had significantly lower risk, while those using the Katima Mulilo border crossing, not feeling disconnected while traveling, and sharing accommodation with one roommate had substantially higher risk. The findings demonstrate that sexual health vulnerability among mobile women traders is shaped by factors across the entire migration continuum, including pre-departure economic circumstances, specific transit routes, and destination living conditions.
Why it matters
This research identifies specific modifiable factors that could reduce HIV vulnerability among women cross-border traders in Southern Africa, a mobile population that has been understudied. The findings suggest targeted interventions such as microfinance programs promoting financial independence, health services at high-risk border crossings, and safer accommodation arrangements could effectively reduce sexual health risks in this economically important but vulnerable group.
Understand the Science
⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Women engaged in informal cross-border trade in Southern Africa experience frequent mobility, economic pressure, and exposure to new social environments that may increase vulnerability to risky sexual behaviour and HIV. Limited evidence exists on how pre-migratory, migratory, and post-migratory factors interact to shape sexual risk among this population. This study examined the prevalence and determinants of risky sexual behaviour among women informal cross-border traders at COMESA Market in Lusaka, Zambia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 499 women informal cross-border traders. A composite risk score was used to classify respondents as "low risk" or "high risk" for sexual behaviour. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariate binary logistic regression were used to investigate associations between selected covariates and risky sexual behaviour, guided by migration and vulnerability theory. The majority (67.7%) of respondents were classified as high-risk. In multivariate analysis, women who used personal savings for start-up capital were 73% less likely to be high-risk compared to those relying on nuclear family capital (aOR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.10-0.73). Women with 5-9 years of trading experience also had lower odds (aOR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.29-0.96). Conversely, using Katima Mulilo border increased the odds 15-fold (aOR = 14.59, 95% CI: 1.26-169.50). Not feeling disconnected while away (aOR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.03-11.11) and sharing accommodation with one roommate (aOR = 4.42, 95% CI: 1.10-17.84) were also significant predictors of high-risk behaviour. This study demonstrates that risk among women informal cross-border traders is produced across the migration continuum by economic dependence, specific transit routes, and destination living conditions. Interventions should therefore prioritise financial independence, targeted health and protection services at high-risk borders, and safe accommodation with peer-led HIV prevention to reduce vulnerability among mobile women traders.