Lubricant Use & Condom Use During Anal Sex in Men Who Have Sex with Men in Tanzania

The lack of data on condom and lubricant use among African men who have sex with men hinders prevention efforts. We describe use, knowledge, and access to lubricants in Dar es Salaam and Tanga, Tanzania. Data were collected in 2012 and 2013 from a cross-sectional survey of 200 men who have sex with men in Dar es Salaam and 100 men who have sex with men in Tanga, Tanzania. 

The most common reason for not using condoms was dislike of condoms. Two-thirds of the men reported always using a lubricant for anal sex. Fewer men who have sex with both men and women know about lubricants, more gay men look for, have difficulty finding, and find lubricants to be expensive; and men who have sex with men use lubricants to facilitate penetration. Men who have sex with both men and women commonly receive their lubricants from their sexual partner, while gay men got them from friends and pharmacies. HIV-negative men who have sex with men used lubricants to facilitate penetration and reduce pain. HIV-positive men who have sex with men are likely to get their lubricants from pharmacies or friends. Men who have sex with men and women use Vaseline® significantly more than gay men as a lubricant. 

Results suggest that HIV prevention knowledge among gay men is greater; HIV prevention efforts should emphasise carrying water-based lubricant among men who have sex with men and women. Consequently, there is an opportunity to co-market condoms and water-based lubricants.

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By: Romijnders KA1, Nyoni JE2, Ross MW3, McCurdy SA4, Mbwambo J5, Kok G6, Crutzen R7.

• 1Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, the Netherlands k.romijnders@student.maastrichtuniversity.nl.
• 2Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
• 3Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine, University of Minnesota, MN USA.
• 4Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA.
• 5Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, United Republic of Tanzania.
• 6School of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
• 7CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.  

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