Malawi has made significant progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. 90% of those living with HIV know their status and have been initiated on ART and 95% of pregnant women are screened for infection. Despite these notable successes, stemming new infections remains a concern in the country, with an estimated 32,300 annual new infections in 2019 alone according to the Global Burden of Disease. Providing HIV and AIDS services to FSWs is one important lever to reducing the spread of the disease. This analysis indicates that interactions with FSWs contribute approximately 15% of new cases annually in those over the age of 15 – approximately 2,400 new infections among clients, in addition to those clients’ partner or partners, which loosely doubles the figure. Additionally, new entrants into the profession, typically younger women, are at extremely high risk of becoming HIV-positive within the first few years of work.
