DAR ES SALAAM, Dec 4 (AFP) - Over two million elderly Tanzanian women are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS due to neglect, ignorance and poverty, a new study by HelpAge International has revealed.
The study revealed incidents where Tanzanian women aged more than 60 years are lured into unsafe sex in exchange for fish or a bucket of water.
"Some elderly women go to the seashore to buy fish directly from fishermen, but on days when they have no money, one has to offer sex to the fishermen in order to get fish to feed the grandchildren," the report quoted an elderly woman in Tanzania's northeastern coastal town of Tanga as saying.
The report said an older woman from Kibaha district in the Coast Region also spoke of engaging on sex with young men selling water.
"Urban areas, such as Tandale Ward in Kinondoni municipality, also suffer from chronic water shortages, where older people cannot afford 150 shillings (about 15 US cents) to pay even for a single bucket of water," it said.
"Women respondents in this ward reported similar cases of offering sex in exchange for water," it added.
The report, titled "The Cost of Love," highlights the forgotten plight of the elderly, who are exposed to high risks of HIV/AIDS infection while caring for their sick children and grandchildren at home.
The report said up to 90 percent of healthcare was done at home and elderly people provide home-based care for up to 500,000 orphans in Tanzania, plus their sick parents.
"But in most cases, HIV/AIDS programmes exclude the plight of the elderly, a group which is so crucial, from the campaigns," the report pointed out.
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