We are absolutely in the grips of an AIDS pandemic, and there can be no denial that we have a growing number of prostitutes.
Prostitution is technically illegal in Namibia, but tolerated.
Namibia, like many other sub-Saharan countries, has a large migrant labour force of men who leave their families behind in rural areas and flock to urban centres to look for work. But with unemployment at about 40 percent and thousands of school leavers hitting the streets every year with little or no prospect of finding paid work, women especially have resorted to prostitution as their only means of survival, Amathila said. According to the AIDS Care Trust, which is co-financed by the state, Namibia has a national HIV infection rate of about 23 percent among adults. But it may be hard to convince prostitutes that they should register, as no one wants the stigma of being a professional sex worker attached to their name, said Apere Davids, the director of the AIDS Care Trust. The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.