THE District Aids Task Force (DATF) in Livingstone has bemoaned the low usage of condoms in the tourist capital.
DATF Livingstone chairperson Eugene Kamuti said the new HIV infections recorded in Livingstone gave an indication that there was low condom usage in the city.
According to the National Aids Council (NAC), the HIV prevalence rate for Livingstone currently stands at 25.3 percent.
Mr Kamuti an interview in Livingstone yesterday said that factors such as multiple concurrent partners and cultural barriers could be attributed to the low usage of the condom in Livingstone.
“The low condom usage in Livingstone, we can say it is really there because we are still seeing new HIV infections being recorded and this can be attributed to factors such as multiple concurrent partnership that have remained very common in Livingstone.
“The issue of cultural barriers because women are taught to be submissive to their husbands and as a result these women cannot choose to use condoms when their partners are not agreeable in marriage and still practice unsafe sex.
“We also have a lot of sex workers who are having unprotected sex with some married men and this puts the married women at risk if their men don’t use protection during sex and it is evident that there is actually new HIV infections being recorded in most of these marriages,”Mr Kamuti said.
He said there were challenges that his office had engaged different stakeholders in trying to intensify the distribution and usage of the contraceptive.
“Our stakeholders who are involved in HIV programmes are intensifying the interventions especially in areas to do with prevention like condom distribution, even getting to areas that are described as hot spots where we believe illicit sexual activities are going on to distribute condoms with an emphasis of them being used.
“If people of Livingstone don’t utilize the use of condoms, then as a city we will fail to attain zero HIV infection rate status because we will still continue having new infections and a lot of people to be put on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
Contact Trust Youth Association (CTYA) executive director Ronny Jere admitted that young people in Livingstone were not utilizing availability and usage of condoms.
“It is very true that young people in our city are not using condoms, the reason is simple, and we have deep rooted social cultural issues that need to be addressed before young people can start using condoms.
“Most young people have been raised to say that sex can only be enjoyed when one is not using a condom and to most young people view a condom as a foreign thing and I feel it will take a bit of some time for young people to begin to appreciate a condom and its usage,” he said.
Mr Jere called for more behavioral change programmes targeted at the youths in the tourist capital.
People have stoped BWAKU they are petitioning…
Yip – they got the advice to get circumcised and stopped using protection…
Agreed. Sheer folly on the part of the citizens including the so – called educated ones. I was one of the people that predicted that such would happen because of a lack of extensive sensitisation by the groups that were calling for this practice. Yes, it has its benefits but people remain very ignorant.
Very Sad. This is what happens when a human being adapts fear of death diminishes. These people have developed a very strong dependence on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). No self control. Risky sexual behaviour.
This circumcision deceit is what will get all of us to be infected with the deadly virus. Some people think when someone gets circumcised then that’s it, he can never contract the virus. And also the ARVs.Some people go on misbehaving thinking ARVs is the cure.
They want to multiply fast so that they can win 2041 elections.
May be sex has become cheaper too. Increase the charges please.