Exploring Maasai cultural influence on male youth sexual risk behavior and the role of leadership in Longido District, Tanzania

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to explore the Maasai cultural influence on male youth sexual risk behavior and the role of leadership in Longido District, Tanzania, and to generate possible solutions to mitigate the current problem. Sexual risk behavior has become a global leadership crisis as well as a sexual and reproductive health challenge. It is the leading cause of STIs and other adverse consequences (Chawla & Kassa et al., 2016; Sarkar, 2019). A study done by Abdul et al. (2018) on the prevalence of self-reported symptoms among youth in Tanzania indicated that STIs prevalence is very high and knowledge about STIs is deficient. Maasai male youth of Longido District in Tanzania have been reckless in their sexual behavior. No evidence from the surveyed literature on what the leadership in place has been doing to combat the sexual risk behavior issue among the Maasai male youth. A study was required to explore the cultural influences on Maasai youth SRB and the role of leadership within this particular community since there was none. Again, Maasai’s perception in regard to SRB was unknown. The persistence of this condition would lead to increasingly poor health in the community and unnecessary deaths. The study used a focused ethnographic case study design which is an in-depth qualitative method of inquiry that challenged and improved the conventional ways due to its brief time in data collection, its focus on a single social phenomenon, and an in-depth inquiry. Research instruments were individual interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and documents. The finding from this study led to the development of seven themes which revealed that there was STI prevalence due to sexual risk behavior influenced by cultural socialization process and indigenous knowledge. It was also found out that government leadership and non-government organizational leadership played their role in many aspects to improve lives, but so far, no health intervention attempt has been made due to a lack of courage to face well-rooted and protected cultural practices. The study recommended a hybrid health and leadership intervention model to mitigate the existing challenge. Keywords: Sexual risk behavior, Leadership, intervention, Maasai, Longido.