PIP: While African leaders continue to assert that male homosexuality only occurs on the continent as the result of a "pernicious Western influence," networks of homosexuals can be found throughout Africa. Many homosexuals adopt heterosexual lifestyles in an attempt to fit in. In Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal, sex between men (or between men and boys) is estimated to cause less than 5% of the cases of HIV/AIDS. The head of the Kenya AIDS NGO (nongovernmental organization) Consortium reports that male homosexuality is fashionable among young men and is practiced in prisons, boarding schools, and colleges. While homosexuals meet publicly in a building near the University of Nairobi, most homosexuals lead a clandestine sex life. In the coastal regions of Kenya, however, male homosexuality is more accepted, and marriages between men may be recognized. No one knows the extent to which the wives of homosexual men face the risk of HIV/AIDS from their husbands' homosexual behavior. The taboos surrounding homosexuality impede the provision of AIDS education and support, and there is no official recognition of the role homosexuals play in transmitting the virus. A representative of the Ministry of Health contends that HIV/AIDS transmission by homosexuals is so negligible that it does not justify attention.