Factors associated with the spread of HIV/AIDS among female youth in Tanzania: a case of Mbeya Municipality.

HIV/AIDS is a threat to the survival of human kind. Millions of people died from it and many more are living with HIV virus is Sub Saharan Africa. Most youths today have not been culturally oriented to their sexuality and social life; perhaps this is due to the decline of the traditional forces and their traditional social agents. As a result of this situation, sex among youth seems reduced to sexual pleasures, a tendency which makes youth more vulnerable to this epidemic, especially females who are being infected at an earlier age than males. This study employed both qualitative and simple quantitative techniques in analysing data. This study hypothesizes that lack of active agent of information dissemination and absence of active and reliable social control agents were responsible for the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. This study, therefore aimed at investigating factors associated with the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS among females, by testing the above mentioned hypothesis. Guided by the findings, this study concludes that although there has been and still are, a number of efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS there is a gap between the information sources and the community especially youths. In addition to this situation, the existing dilemma whether to give children full knowledge of their sexuality or not, also fuels the high infection rate among youths especially girls. The study offers some recommendations on how to deal with problems cited, for instance to ask the Ministry of Education and Culture to reinforce its HIV/AIDS/STD's guideline be fully implemented at school level and also ask the government and political figures in the country to translate their verbal commitment into fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic into real actions.