By Geoffrey Phiri
A Condom, as many people know, is a protective sheathe made from rubbery substance such as latex or polyurethane, closed at one end and open at the other.
When used correctly and consistently during sexual intercourse, a condom can help in avoiding unwanted pregnancies and also reduce the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI) s, including HIV and AIDS.
In Zambia where the majority population is the youths who are sexually active, the condom is often used as a protector against Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and has proved to be a people’s ideal choice for protection.
It is available free of charge in most public health centres, youth resource centres, lodges, non government organization dealing in reproductive health and many other places although the same product can be bought at an affordable price elsewhere in chemists, night clubs, bars and even grocery shops.
The first batch of the latex male maximum condoms was introduced in Zambia in the 1990’s and has since gone through a number of transformations. All this has been done with the hope of making it more effective both as a contraceptive and for disease protection.
Zambia being one of the countries most affected by HIV and AIDS with 14.3 percent of the population estimated to be living with HIV and approximately 690,000 children orphaned, the disease poses a threat to the economic and social gains the country has achieved.
This has made government working with other stakeholders both local and international to develop a multi-sectoral national response to fight the disease and this has started reaping rewards.
The UNAIDS report for 2010 has shown that Zambia is reducing the rate of new infections and this is partly because young people are delaying entrance into sex, using condoms as well as significant reductions in the number of sexual partners.
Statistics have shown that about 40 million packs of condoms have been sold since it was first introduced.
Meanwhile Zambia Health Demographic Survey (ZHDS) of 2009 has also shown that the country is making progress concerning the use of condoms among the people, and there is also an indication that there is an increase in the percentage of people using condoms in the country.
According to the ZHDS of 2009 which was released this year, about 40 percent of the people who were surveyed, confirmed using a condom compared to only 35 percent in 2005.
The survey also showed a slight increase among the youths who are sexually active using a condom within the same period at 34 to about 40 percent, while 29 percent of the youths indicated that they used a condom the first time they had sex compared to 21percent who used a condom in 2005.
Recently the Society for Family Health (SFH) Zambia, who are producing and distributing the male maximum condom in the country, re-launched a new version of the condom which it described as strong; triple tested, and does not break.
The new version of the condom is a three (3) ply lubricated latex condom which gives the user a peace of mind when using it.
The re-launch was done in Chipata at David Kaunda Stadium and was graced by Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao during the commemoration of the 2010 world AIDS day celebration.
The 2010 re-launch of the maximum condom under the theme, ‘trusted protection’, was the third time that SFH was re-launching the condoms since its inception in 1992. It was first re-launched in 1998 under the theme, ‘It’s My Life It’s My Choice’, it was then re-launched for the second time in 2004 as a maximum classic, and scented condom with the later specifically designed to provide a choice and encourage non-users to adapt to the use of the condom.
The 2010 launch was done in style where a couple who presented the scissors to the Minister of health for cutting the ribbon clad in attire made from expired condoms at an event that was witnessed by government officials, donor agencies, AIDS activists, Non-Governmental Organizations involved in the fight against Aids and scores of Chipata residents.
The lady’s dress was entirely made of condom where 864 condoms were used while the man’s waist coat used 432 condoms.
The designer, Monde who also wore the dress and presented the knife to the Minister, said she came up with the idea of designing the condom dress just in time for the launch of a new version of the condom.
And speaking during the re- launch of the condom Mr. Simbao called on people to embrace the ABC strategy to fight the pandemic.
He said although there was no known cure for the disease world over, the disease could be controlled by observing the Abstinence, Being faithful and using Condoms every time one has sex which is the (ABCs) strategy.
He explained that there was no cure for the disease world over although people with the disease could still remain healthy through taking the Ant-Retroviral Treatment (ART) which government is currently offering free of charge in most clinics and health centres in all the nine provinces of the country.
The Minister encouraged people to remain faithful to one sexual partner and always practice safer sex with the use of the condom even in marriages.
He said there was need to remove the misunderstanding of condom use in married life where people think that it’s only those who are unfaithful in their marriages who should use it.
“There is a wrong perception that has been created by people in marriage that it’s only those who are promiscuous who use condoms. But what you should know is that even you who are in marriage can use this to protect yourselves from disease” Mr. Simbao said.
He also emphasized on the need for abstinence for those who are single and faithfulness to one sexual partner to those in marriage and asked people to go for Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) to know their HIV and AIDS status stating that government was providing free medicines to those infected with the disease.
Although a condom can be used to protect one against disease, it should however be emphasized that condoms in themselves cannot guarantee 100 percent protection.
“Make sure that you read the instructions, check for all the necessary information like the expiry date before using the condom,” Mr. Simbao advised.
Research shows that condoms slightly offer about 90 percent of protection from disease. This is because of the risks of breaking, and in other cases not following instructions, like the expiry date.
It should be emphasized that we should not take chances, never have sex with someone you are not married to, those who are in marriage should stick to their spouses, while those who are single should wait till they are married to have sex to avoid risks of contracting the disease.
As they say abstinence ili-che ‘Abstinence is the best’ no one will surely go wrong with it.
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