Search

Investigation of the provenance of a herbarium gathering of Kissenia arabica (Loasaceae) at the Natural History Museum, London, reveals it to be part of the likely earliest extant herbarium collection from the south Arabian coast. Gathered in 1781–1782, the collection was possibly made by the colourful John Oswald (c. 1760–1793).

Longitudinal diary data gathered over 15 months were used to investigate the influence of individual sociodemographic factors and the circumstances of sexual contacts on condom use among a cohort of prostitutes in the Gambia. A cohort of 181 prostitutes working in 7 bars and several rural markets were monitored daily for 14 months. A sample of 747 clients of these prostitutes was questioned during March 1989-May 1990. Crude and location-standardized condom-use ratios were calculated for each woman. Among the 24181 recorded sexual contacts condom use was reported for 84% of the 22916 contacts with clients and 4% of the 1265 contacts with regular partners. Condom use with clients varied according to location (from 91% in high-class bars to 59% in rural markets) decreased from 91% with the first client of the evening to 37% with the tenth client and from 75% with clients paying higher charges to 52% with those paying lower charges. There were no significant associations between condom use and age level of education marital status country of origin use of other contraceptives number of children or whether or not the prostitute had a regular partner. Questionnaire data collected from the 747 clients after a sexual contact showed that the clients level of education was significantly related to condom use increasing from 56% among those with no education to 81% among those with tertiary education. There was no significant relationship between condom use and marital status ethnic group or country of origin. Comparisons of client and prostitute reports showed agreement in condom use for 76% f contacts but in 22% of cases the client reported not using a condom while the prostitute reported the opposite. Clients aged 20-24 years were least likely to use condoms; white collar workers traders and those paying higher charges were more likely to use condoms.

There has been a growing interest in recent years in the potential use of product differentiation in seafood products (mainly through eco-type labelling), as a means of promoting and rewarding the sustainable management and exploitation of fish stocks. The potential encapsulated by product differentiation has, however, yet to be tested in the market place within many countries, including the UK. This paper draws on a study exploring the nature and extent of the response of UK consumers to the introduction of labelled seafood products and explores the potential of product differentiation to promote sustainable fisheries. From the results presented in this paper, the scale of the effect has been shown to be greater for sustainability and quality forms of product differentiation than the effect generated by any of the other potential labels. The origin and mode of production also generated sizeable and significant effects. These results suggest that moves underway to implement certification schemes can be justified in support of sustainable fisheries management. The important policy implication is that improvement in the supply-side management of fisheries will be needed to facilitate more widespread adaptation of certification schemes. Nonetheless, the opportunities for higher premiums and greater market share due to certification will provide additional incentives for the required management improvements.

Evaluating the performance of fisheries and the effectiveness of fisheries management measures requires economic as well as biological information. A recent House of Commons Agriculture Committee report has drawn attention to the scarcity of economic information on UK sea fisheries, and recommends the commissioning of regular research into the profitability of the fishing industry. While supporting this recommendation, the present article contends that the information requirements are more extensive than those suggested by the Committee; specifically, the need is for information that enables policy makers to assess both the actual profitability of fisheries in their existing state and also their potential profitability under alternative fisheries management regimes. In practice this calls for the commissioning not just of regular costs and earnings studies, important though these may be for painting an up-to-date picture of the current economic performance of fisheries, but a modelling framework that can answer “what-if ?” questions about the way economic performance might be altered or improved under different policy scenarios.

Utilising case studies, the paper identifies the potential of artificial reefs as a tool to aid the rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems from an ecological perspective. It goes on to discuss how this potential can be constrained by the action of a complex array of legal frameworks and political processes which are not necessarily attuned to or supportive of the needs of habitat restoration (whether based on artificial reefs or other technologies). Apart from institutional inertia, one of the main reasons why support for habitat restoration projects may be lacking is that, while their costs may be expressed in monetary terms, their benefits rarely are. The paper concludes by exploring techniques by which both the benefits and costs of coastal rehabilitation may be monetised, thereby placing them on the same footing as other programmes whose economic returns are more easily quantified.

The Scottish Collaborative On‐demand Publishing Enterprise (SCOPE) was a project funded from 1995 to 1998 as part of the UK’s Electronic Libraries (eLib) programme. SCOPE was involved with providing students with access to key course readings either via course packs or electronically via the Internet. The project achieved its aims of providing improved access, developing a model copyright permissions agreement, and developing a secure user‐authentication and delivery method. At the end of the SCOPE Project, eLib accepted a bid from the project team and other partners to provide a national on‐demand service, known as HERON (Higher Education Resources ON‐demand). This has similar aims to SCOPE, but on a UK‐wide scale with a view to start providing an active service in January 2000.

This paper explores the development of the offshore oil and gas industry on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) and particularly the role played by science and technology in that development. An historical perspective is taken in the first instance to place recent developments in context, before exploring the role of science and technology in the 1990s. Three areas of key importance form the basis of the discussion: the maintenance of production from the traditional provinces, the development of new provinces and the mitigation of environmental impacts. The paper demonstrates the crucial role that science and technology plays in each of these areas.

This article aims to achieve three ends: identify and review the key legal questions faced by marine ranching, a new and upcoming activity in the marine environment, identify the challenges that existing legal regimes pose for ranching activities, and explore the extent to which marine ranching is a legally viable concept for the future enhancement of fish production in Europe. The article particularly focuses on three key categories of issues that the international body of experience has shown to be important in determining both the extent to which ranching operations are viable and the form that they ultimately can take: ownership and exploitation rights, operational requirements, and development controls. Each of these issues is explored through drawing on international experience (where appropriate) and the indigenous regimes in Europe and examining the implications of each for the viability of marine ranching.

The Scottish Collaborative On-demand Publishing Enterprise (SCOPE) has its roots inthe Follet Report of 1993. The main aim of SCOPE is to allow students better access to key reading materials. To this end, SCOPE has developed an electronic resource bank of digitized book chapters and journal articles which lecturers have selected as key reading for their courses.

Reports on the British Library, Research and Innovation Centre (BLRIC) supported stakeholder project, conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University Library, to apply the stakeholder method to the design of a set of user chosen performance measures to assist British academic libraries in improving customer service. Reports results of a questionnaire survey, involving 15 institutions and 10 stake holding groups, consisting of 91 performance measures organized in four categories: assistance from library staff; provision of study space and equipment; access to materials and equipment; and management and administration. Identifies similarities and differences between groups and describes their principal characteristics. Compares pre- and post-1992 universities and suggests questionnaires for user surveys which would yield qualitative information on library services. Compares this research with similar work carried out in New Zealand, with recent reports on academic library evaluation and with Leeds Metropolitan University Library’s service level agreement. The project ran from July 1995 to November 1996. (These results were also reported in British Library, Research and Innovation Report No. 36, 1996).

The study was based in south-west Uganda where significant differences in HIV prevalence have been found between urban and rural areas. Longitudinal data collected in a diary format was used to determine the extent to which high-risk men and women living in a truck stop/trading town had sexual contact with people from surrounding rural areas and a nearby fishing village. Study participants were 143 men, 75 of whom were resident in the town, 40 in a fishing village and 28 in rural areas, and 81 women, of whom 47 were resident in the town, 25 in the fishing village and 9 in a rural area. During 1687 man weeks the 143 men made 3149 trips and had 5189 sexual contacts. Ninety-two per cent of these sexual contacts occurred in the man's current place of residence and 21% were with a new partner. The 81 women participated for 1280 women weeks during which they recorded 6378 sexual contacts. Women who lived in the fishing village and the rural area had around 90% of their contacts with local men while those who lived in the town fell into 3 categories: women who charged a relatively high price for commercial sex had only 11% of contacts with men living in the town, while those who charged a tenth of the price had 71% of contacts with town men. The small number of women who fell into an intermediate category, in terms of price, had sexual contact with a wide variety of men. These findings show that there is little scope for HIV infection to spread between different residential or occupational groups. This may help to explain how large differences in HIV seropositivity between neighbouring localities can be maintained for long periods, despite considerable social and economic mixing between groups and high levels of sexual partner change within groups.In southwest Uganda, there is concern that sexual mixing between rural areas with low HIV prevalence and urban areas with high HIV prevalence will produce uniformly high rates of HIV. To determine the extent of such mixing, a prospective study was conducted in a trading town on the trans-African highway with a steady flow of male truckers, an agricultural hinterland to the west, and a fishing village to the east. A total of 143 men recruited largely from bars and 81 women reported to be sexually promiscuous kept records of their sexual contacts over a 6-month period. During 1687 man-weeks of observation, the men made 3149 road trips and had 5189 sexual contacts; 92% of these contacts occurred in the men's place of residence and 21% involved a new partner. 59% of town men's sexual contacts, 61% reported by men in the fishing village, and 52% of those in rural areas involved casual partners. An additional 6378 sexual encounters were recorded during 1280 woman-weeks. Close to 90% of women's sexual contacts in the 2 rural areas involved local men. Among the highest-paid town commercial sex workers, only 11% of sexual contacts involved men from the town; in contrast, 71% of sexual encounters among town women who charged only 10% the price of their more expensive counterparts were with local men. Serologic testing of a subset of 75 men and 52 women yielded HIV prevalences of 28% and 52%, respectively. The distinct sexual networks identified in this study suggest it is unlikely that rates of HIV infection in the rural areas will reach those in nearby trading towns.

Amidst the growing volume of published research on artificial reefs, one of the key questions concerns their potential for enhancing production over and above merely serving to attract and concentrate fish at specific sites. This paper reviews the ‘attraction versus production’ debate, highlighting the key role of design in determining a reef’s effectiveness. Though some studies have apparently demonstrated that artificial reefs are capable of acting as production enhancers, others have not, for reasons which may be associated with the design of the reef itself. The review identifies a number of lines of enquiry for future research, and argues that while the proper design of a reef is essential to maxim&e productive potential, this may be of little value in the absence of a management strategy aimed at controlling the build-up of harvesting pressure which some reefs may engender. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

The paper, based on work undertaken for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and National Power, reviews the growing interest in using cement stabilised coal-fired power station by-products (pulverised fly ash (PFA) and flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum) in artificial reef construction. It focuses on the physical and environmental suitability of the material and the legal and policy issues which will determine its future use. In so doing, it explores the relationship between science and policy making and the allengulfing nature of the wider environmental agenda.

This study is based on interviews conducted among 8 women's income-generating groups and 12 individual women entrepreneurs in 15 villages in Masaka district, Uganda. The Baganda are the main tribe in the study villages. The study evaluates the economic achievement, objectives, and social characteristics of the groups. Groups ranged in size from 9-20 members. All had functioned for 3-5 years. A regular membership fee was paid through the sale of agricultural produce. Groups met at least every 2 weeks. This study revealed that the individual goals were to increase individual wealth, while the stated group goals were to invest in the community. Members considered the groups as useful in providing an easy way to raise capital. Most members considered financial status as a criterion for group membership. Elderly women tended to join social and handicraft groups. The women's group members tended to be friends before the establishment of the group and tended to be currently married to men residing in the area. Of the 12 women entrepreneurs, only 5 were currently married. All 12 women entrepreneurs had considerable initiative. The 12 women and the women's group members derived income from two or more sources: agricultural projects, animal husbandry, craft production, alcohol production and sale, or other activities. Study findings indicate that decisions were often delayed or avoided in order to preserve social cohesion. In a market-oriented enterprise, quick response time is needed and the bureaucratic dynamics would hinder some agricultural ventures. The poorest women experienced barriers to group membership. Women entrepreneurs were more successful than group women.

Despite a significant body of well-founded legislation oil pollution incidents still occur. There are a number of reasons for this less than perfect environmental performance. The principal factor in their resolution is, however, the explicit recognition of the role of corporate organizational behaviour in determining the quality of the marine environment. Environmental management does not end with government legislation and its policy derivatives but must be implemented offshore. Numerous commercial entities are implicitly tasked with implementing environmental management at the operational level. The hydrocarbon industry on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf is utilized to illustrate the various facets of corporate environmental scanning, communication and decision-taking which feature in their environmental performance.

A simple and inexpensive method for monitoring child mortality in association with birth registration was introduced into the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Eight thousand two hundred and one newborn infants were registered in 1988, approximately 77% of all children born in that year. The risk of death by age 2 was determined from reports given by the mother on the present status of a previously born child at the time of a recent delivery or during clinic registration of the current birth. This was 91 per 1000 for the province and corresponds to a risk of death by age 1 of 77/1000 by extrapolation using standard lifetables. This method was validated by comparison with a continuing demographic surveillance system covering 30,000 people in the western part of the province. The new birth certificate has been an incentive to increase supervised delivery rates and to generate a register that can be used to increase vaccination coverage.The successful experience with the newly established birth registration system in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea is presented. The methods of data collection, the practical problems encountered, and the registration, mortality rate, and birth interval results for 1988 are discussed. Problems involved some maternal-child health (MCH) clinic teams being late in giving out birth certificates or not giving certificates at all during 1988. Registration was 77%. Other irregularities included giving certificates before the January 1 start-up or after infants reached their 1st birthday. 98% of registrations were made within the 1st month of birth. Clinic registrations exceeding 100% were due to mothers crossing over district boundaries to use a clinic closer to home, migration, variability of population growth, and underenumeration in the 1980 census. Children born and dying before the 1st clinic visit were not recorded. This province has the highest infant and child mortality rates in all Papua New Guinea. Before 1988, the Tari research unit (TRU) collected demographic data on the Huli language group, which showed that birth data could be collected and child mortality estimated from mother's reports. The certificate was designed to be desirable by mothers. The mortality method of estimating the probability of dying by 2 years involved the tabulation of previous child deaths reported by mothers at the time of birth registration and calculating the ratio of child deaths reported to the number of mothers reporting a previous birth. The retrospective data refer to the period approximately 2/3 of the mean birth interval prior to the date of birth registration collection. Estimates of infant mortality were made using the Coale-Demeny standard life table model. 8201 birth certificates were registered out of the estimated 10,611 births of which 51% were males. 79% (6510) of mothers reported a previous birth of which 592 were dead. The risk of dying by 2 years corresponds to 91/1000 for 1986 with an infant mortality rate of 77/1000. Mothers whose current child was born at a health center had a higher level of mortality (103) for the previous child than mothers whose recent child was born without supervision (81). The mean birth interval was estimated at 40.8 months for Tari district, which is probably overestimated. 62% of 1st time mothers had supervised deliveries. Comparisons are made with TRU data which showed a reversal of results for supervised vs. unsupervised deliveries.

Au Royaume-Uni, les industries creatives et culturelles du nord-est de l’Angleterre ont contribue de facon notable au developpement economique de la region. La renaissance recente de la ville de NewcastleGateshead a aide a redefinir l’identite culturelle de la region. L’enseignement superieur a joue un role important dans la region du nord-est de l’Angleterre, grâce a des bâtiments historiques, tels que le Château de Durham ou encore les installations recemment edifiees dans le quartier culturel de l’Universite de Newcastle. Les Universites du Nord-Est ont egalement joue un role preponderant dans le developpement de la connaissance et des competences dans le secteur culturel en apportant leur soutien aux nouvelles entreprises, en fournissant des etudiants benevoles et par leur contribution critique a travers la recherche et l’octroi de bourses communes de doctorat. Le succes de l’engagement des universites aupres de la region depend des strategies et structures au sein de l’enseignement superieur et des organes gouvernementaux responsables du secteur culturel. Les universites travaillent avec un large eventail de ministeres du gouvernement central, de conseils des competences sectorielles, d’associations de developpement regional, d’administrations locales et d’organisations, telles que l’Arts Council (Conseil des arts) et les Regional Cultural Consortia (Consortiums culturels regionaux). A bien des egards, la valeur culturelle de la contribution des universites est souvent intangible; cependant, au vu de leur contribution a la qualite de vie et a la prosperite economique, notamment grâce a la formation frequente de partenariats avec des organisations culturelles de toute la region, son importance ne peut etre ignoree.

Set within the context of recent literature on the private-public divide in the health sector of developing countries generally and Asia specifically this study considers the major government and the major indigenous non-government clinics offering out-patient reproductive health (RH) services in Phnom Penh Cambodia. RH is of critical importance in Cambodia which has one of the highest levels of unmet need for family planning in the developing world and suffers from what is arguably the most severe sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS problem in Asia. The study is unusual in that it examines and compares aspects of service delivery and pricing along with the socioeconomic profile and health-seeking behavior of clients self-selecting services in the two settings. The socioeconomic status of clients was much higher than the norm in Cambodia but did not differ significantly between the two clinics. A few service indicators suggested that the quality of care was better in the nongovernmental organization (NGO) clinic. Underlying variables--such as the broader mandate of the public sector institution and the significant discrepancy between public and private sector salaries--offer an obvious explanation for these differences. The Ministry of Health in Cambodia has been developing policies related to the NGO sector which has expanded rapidly in Cambodia during the 1990s and it is struggling to increase staff remuneration within the public sector. (authors)

Economic appraisal of an artificial reef proposal is an essential step in determining the role such a structure may play in, say, fishery enhancement. Reef projects may be appraised from the perspective of either a private commercial firm or society as a whole, though the emphasis of the present chapter will primarily be on the latter. The need for economic appraisal is likely to assume greater importance in the future, given that artificial reef deployment is increasingly undertaken in many countries on often loosely defined‘public interest’ grounds. Without a clear notion of what costs and benefits are likely to arise, however, there is a danger that artificial reefs will be constructed in circumstances which do not justify them. Artificial reefs may often be quite expensive and difficult to construct, and given that they have the potential to cause over-exploitation (Grossman et ai, 1997; Pickering and Whitmarsh, 1997) there is clearly no guarantee that their economic effects will be positive. What, then, is required in order to establish whether an artificial reef proposal constitutes a‘good investment’ from a social perspective?

There are numerous legal questions associated with artificial reefs, relating to their location, construction, operation and decommissioning. Unlike other disciplines where the state of knowledge is the result of specific research, law exists and applies irrespective of any explicit mention or consideration of artificial reefs or their requirements in its provisions.

A longitudinal study of the sexual behaviour of high-risk men and women living in a trading town on the trans-Africa highway showed that distinct sexual networks operated within the town. Forty-eight prostitutes kept daily records for 6 months of all their sexual contacts including the occupation and place of residence of each client and the price paid. Details of 4573 sexual contacts of the women were recorded. Three classes of women were identified: (1) 20 "high-class' women who charged a mean price of over US $4/- per contact. The majority of their clients were from large urban areas of Uganda (55%) or neighbouring countries (32%)-70% were truck-drivers or their mates; (2) 18 "low-class' women, charging an average of US $0.4 per contact, who were patronized predominantly by men resident in the town (71%) who were unskilled casual workers (58%); (3) 10 women fell into an intermediate category in terms of price and the residence of their clients. Thirty-eight male potential clients were recruited in low-cost bars where some of the women worked. They provided similar details of their daily sexual contacts. All were resident in the town and 22 had occupations which were classified as unskilled. Of the 1621 sexual contacts recorded by the men 25% were with new partners.A longitudinal study of the sexual behavior of men and women living in a trading town on the trans-Africa highway (100 km south-west of Kampala, Uganda) revealed the presence of distinct networks of casual and commercial sex. 48 commercial sex workers recruited from bars and hotels on or away from the main road and 38 potential male clients located in bars away from the road were followed for a mean period of 16 and 13 weeks, respectively. Among women, a total of 4573 sexual contacts were recorded over 787 woman-weeks of observation, for an average of 5.8 contacts per week; 472 contacts (10%) were with regular partners. Condoms were reportedly used in 99% of casual and 59% of regular contacts. Clients of high-class prostitutes (charging over US$4/contact) were generally drivers from other urban areas or neighboring countries, while those of middle-class sex workers (US$2/contact) tended to be from fishing villages and those of low-class sex workers (under US$0.50/contact) were predominantly local unskilled workers. Among male respondents, 1621 sexual contacts were reported during 516 man-weeks of observation, for an average of 3.1 contacts per week; 584 contacts (36%) were with regular partners and 406 (24%) were with new partners. Men reported condom use in 3% of regular contacts and 87% of casual contacts. In-depth interviews with a convenience sample of six men revealed a total of 32 sexual contacts in the previous 2 weeks, of which eight involved wives or regular partners, 11 were with a sex worker encountered in discos or on the road, and 13 were with a woman known for 2-3 days. The condom use rates reported by respondents for casual partners are considered inflated, especially in light of the drunkenness that usually accompanies sexual encounters initiated in lower-class bars.

The objective of this study was to document the extent to which rural and urban-based male traders have sexual contacts away from their place of residence. 51 traders (46 who travelled by bicycle and five others) kept daily dairies of all their journeys and sexual contacts for a total of 584 person-weeks. 25 were resident in a trading town where HIV prevalence was about 40% and 26 lived up to 25 km away in rural areas where HIV prevalence was approximately 8%. A total of 2147 return trips were made (mean 3.7 per week). 80% were between the trading town and the surrounding rural area. A total of 1377 sexual contacts were recorded (mean 2.3 per week); 95% of the contacts of urban-based men occurred in the town 3% in other urban areas and 2% in a rural area. For rural-based men 82% of sexual contacts took place in their home village 14% in a neighboring village 2% in the trading town and 3% in other urban centers. Despite considerable economic interaction there is very little sexual mixing between the town and surrounding rural areas. This may explain why the high HIV prevalence found in some trading towns in Africa has not diffused out to rural areas. (authors)

This study investigates the relationship between social and environmental variables and diarrhoea and growth in children aged between 6 and 36 months in an urban area of The Gambia, West Africa. The social and environmental conditions of 493 children were observed and recorded over a period of 12 months. Two hundred and seventy-seven children were under weekly diarrhoea surveillance for a 15 week period during the wet season and 322 children had anthropometric measurements taken in May and September. Computer analysis was used to determine association between single and multiple environmental and social factors and diarrhoea prevalence and growth. The results of the diarrhoea surveillance showed that there was considerable variation between individual children. Thirty children had no diarrhoea during the period of surveillance and 30 had diarrhoea for over 24% of the time, with 2 children having diarrhoea for more than 50 days out of a total of 105. None of the social and environmental variables recorded showed a significant relationship with diarrhoea prevalence. The anthropometric measurements showed that at the end of the wet season, in September, 23% of children in this age group were less than 90% of the National Centre for Health Statistics standards of height for age and several of the variables recorded showed a statistically significant association with this measurement.

Spatial approaches to fisheries management in the form of total or partial exclusion zones have attracted much interest in recent years, though relatively little is known in practice about how such measures impact fishermen or other groups of stakeholders. The present paper hopes to shed light on this issue by reporting the results of a recently completed EU project investigating the effects of a trawl ban introduced in the Gulf of Castellammare, NW Sicily, in 1990. The results indicate that the prohibition on trawling led to stock recovery and improved financial returns for the artisanal fishermen who have been permitted to operate within the restricted area. There is evidence, however, that the displacement of trawlers to the outer periphery of the exclusion zone has impacted adversely on artisanal operators located immediately outside the trawl ban area.

To determine the effect of counselling on condom use by prostitutes.Cohort study.Field-based study in The Gambia.Thirty-one (12 HIV-positive and 19 HIV-negative) prostitutes.Post-test HIV counselling.Levels of condom use.Overall, counselling had no effect on condom use.Scarce resources should be directed towards providing condoms in bars rather than counselling.HIV infection is much more prevalent in prostitution than in the general population of the Gambia (26.2 vs. 1.7%, respectively, in 1988). The short-and long-term effects of counseling on condom use by prostitutes was examined by determining condom use in 29 prostitutes, 11 HIV-positive (group 1) and 18 HIV-negative (group 2), before and 1 month after counseling and in 31 prostitutes, 12 HIV-positive group 3) and 19 HIV-negative (group 4), before and 2-5 month after counseling. HIV-positive women were told that reinfection would increase their chances of developing AIDS as well as lead to transmission of the virus. 3515 sexual contacts were recorded before counseling, 1252 after 1 month, and 4949 at 2-5 months later. Group 1 women reported an 89.3% rate of use before counseling; 1 month later, 9 maintained their rate, 1 increased use from 56 to 81%, and 1 decreased use from 31 to 26%. Group 2 women had 88% use before and, in 11 of the 12 women, 90% use after counseling; the 12th woman reduced use to 66% and was observed to increase her alcohol intake significantly. In both groups, 4 increased use and 3 reduced use. In Group 3, condom use declined insignificantly from 89.3 to 83.5%. 4 women maintained 90% use, 6 reduced use, and 2 increased it. Group 4 women decreased use insignificantly from 88% before to 84.4% after counseling. 8 women maintained original levels of use, 4 increased, and 7 decreased (1 from 90% to as low as 17%). In groups 3 and 4, 74% had 90% use precounseling; this fell to 69% at 1 month and 36% at 2-5 months after counseling, a significant decrease in usage. In all of the prostitutes, condom use increased in the first month after counseling and fell 2-5 months later. Counseling, therefore, failed to increase overall condom use. Possible reasons for this failure include the Senegalese backgrounds of many of the women (they were accustomed to health checks and free condoms); the low number of AIDS deaths in the Gambia, which keeps the disease a distant possibility instead of a pressing reality for the prostitutes; and the consideration of condom use as primarily a method to prevent contraction of the traditional sexually transmitted diseases. When resources are scarce, it may be more important to provide free condoms in bars frequented by prostitutes than to provide counseling.