This report presents results of a formative survey conducted in Mozambique on the phenomenon of Multiple Concurrent Partnerships in the context of HIV and AIDS. The report informs N'weti, an organization dedicated to health communication, about audience perceptions and attitudes towards the phenomenon. It also seeks to inform about social norms and practices around the subject and to identify the barriers that prevent behavior change. The phenomenon of multi-partner relationships between men and women emerged on the program agenda of the SADC Experts Meeting in Maseru, Lesotho in May 2006 (SADC Think Tank). This meeting identified this phenomenon as one of the main vectors of HIV transmission in Southern Africa.
It was in this context that the Soul City Regional Program, in partnership with the SADC Secretariat, decided and agreed to carry out national and regional partnerships with the sole aim of influencing the reduction of multiplicity of partners in the field of HIV. As a means of informing the production of communication materials at both regional and SADC country level, a multi-partner and co-occurring training survey was suggested and carried out simultaneously in the nine SADC countries which are partners of the Regional Program of Soul City. In Mozambique the research was carried out by N'weti, an integral part of the Regional Program of Soul City.
The present report is structured in six parts: the first presents the methodology adopted for conducting research. Following is the presentation of the types of MCPs (Multiples Concurrent Partnerships) indicated by the audience: polygamy, amanism and intimate friendship. In the third are socio-economic and cultural factors that imply men and women to get involved in these networks of sexual relations. The fourth section describes the ways in which men and women manage these relationships in their daily lives. Due to the direct correlation between the phenomenon and the HIV and AIDS pandemic, perceptions of the vulnerability and risk of the HIV-infected audience and the dynamics and meanings of condom use emerge. Finally, the report presents the main strategic conclusions and recommendations to be considered in programmatic interventions aimed at reducing partners.
