Studies on extramarital sexual behaviour in Africa have typically been
asymmetrical with most of the focus on men to the neglect of women. Extramarital
sexual relationships have been associated with HIV infection in marriages
and a range of other social problems. The purpose of this study was to examine
whether extramarital sexual behaviour varies across gender in sub-Saharan
Africa. The data came from recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in
the three selected countries: Cameroon (Central Africa), Lesotho (South Africa),
and Nigeria (West Africa). To answer the research question, a binary logistic
regression model was fitted on 3634 (men) and 9805 (women) in Cameroon, 1
403 (men) and 4 129 (women) in Lesotho and 8,617 (men) and 23 954
(women) in Nigeria who answered question on the number of sex partners,
excluding wife/husband, in the past twelve months prior to the survey.
Results showed that men aged 35 and above in Cameroon (OR: 0.40, CI: 0.32-
0.51, p <0.001), Lesotho (OR: 0.69, CI: 0.49-0.98, p <0.05), and Nigeria (OR:
0.55, CI: 0.42-0.72, p <0.001); had lower odds of engaging in extramarital
sexual behaviour. Women aged 25-34 in Cameroon (OR: 0.43, CI: 0.25-0.74, p
<0.01) had lower odds while women in Lesotho (OR: 1.69, CI: 1.34-2.14, p
<0.001), had higher odds of engaging in extramarital sexual behaviour. In view
of the dangers associated with extramarital sexual behaviour, it is important that
men and women are continuously informed of the risk of not remaining faithful to
their partners.