Mapping transactional sex on the Northern Corridor highway in Kenya

Even in generalized HIV/AIDS epidemics, vulnerable populations such as sex workers and truckers require special attention in programming. Combining a number of elicitation methods, centred on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) mapping, the Kenyan section of the Northern Corridor highway was studied to characterize the 'hot spots' where transactional sex is concentrated and to provide estimates of numbers of truckers and sex workers and the volumes of transactional sex taking place on the highway. An average of 2400 trucks park overnight at the 39 hot spots identified. These spots have an estimated sex worker population of 5600 women. Analysis of 403 sex worker diaries shows an average of 13.6 different clients and 54.2 sex acts in a month. Condom use is 69% in liaisons with regular clients and 90% with casual clients. The use of GIS is demonstrated at regional and local scales. The 'bridge population' of clients of sex workers, containing a wide rage of occupations, supports the concept of programming for 'vulnerable places' as well as vulnerable groups.