[Student sexual behavior at the University of Bangui in the Central African Republic]

Encouraging responsible sexual behavior has become an important issue in recent years mainly due to the worldwide human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic and to the high number of unwanted pregnancies that often end in high-risk abortions. Young people and in particular students in higher education are high-risk groups for both unwanted pregnancy and HIV. The purpose of this report is to describe the findings of a month-long survey conducted among students at the University of Bangui (UB) in 1998-1999. Individual students were asked to give immediate responses to semi-open questions. The Chi test was used to assess correlation between a number of variables. A total of 422 UB students including 218 males (51.7%) and 204 females (483%) were included in the survey. Mean age was 24.9 years for females and 26.1 years for males. Over half of the students of both sexes reported having their first sexual relation between the ages of 15 and 19 years. Males were more satisfied by their first experience than females. The percent of married students (male or female) was 5.9%. Most students (62.1%) had at least 2 sex partners and 58.3% had at least one child. The preferred contraceptive method was condom use for males and the Ogino technique for females. The percent of female students expressing fear of HIV infection was 27.4%. The results of this study show that information and education campaigns are needed to encourage UB students to practice sexual behavior to avoid both unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV infection.