By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
As the world celebrates International Condom Day, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria said, condoms are still the best option for helping partners keep intimate times safer and fun.
“In this regard and on February 13, a day preceding Valentine’s Day, AHF Nigeria shall be holding a road walk starting from the AHF Nigeria Benue Program Office at 10, Jona Jang Crescent, Makurdi, to terminate at the Tito gate area of the city.
“During the walk, there would be public education on condom to harp on the need for correct and consistent use of the commodity, while free condoms shall be distributed to the people.”
AHF said it is also strategically targeting the youth population with messages of abstinence, but for those who are unable to abstain, to use condom consistently and correctly.
It said the youth engagement is in collaboration with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), National AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Program (NASCP), the Lagos state AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) and the National Youth Network on HIV/AIDS Population and Development (NYNETHA).
The youth engagement will be through Twitter Spaces and a dedicated podcast that is being produced with contents generated from young people in Abuja, Benue, Cross River and Nasarawa states.
“The emphasis on reaching both the adult and youth population with condom education stems from the need to create and expand access to accurate information that support safer sexual practices in the population, which can halt the tide of new infections being recorded.’’ Said, Dr. Echey Ijezie, AHF Nigeria Country Program Director.
According to the World Health Organization, over 1 million people globally acquire an STI every day, and 117 million new HIV infections since 1990 have been averted thanks to condoms. This is why, on ICD and beyond, the world must remember—condoms are safe, sexy, and essential to ending HIV/AIDS.
“Observed annually on February 13, International Condom Day gives people around the world a c hance to receive free condoms and essential information about proper condom use and other sexual health issues. On ICD 2024, we urge everyone worldwide to remember that condoms save lives and remain the best option for preventing HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and unplanned pregnancies.”
