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Earlier this week, a news story containing a disturbing statistics came to light that will shock most readers. Nearly, 5000 schoolgirls in Johannesburg, South Africa, became pregnant in just one school calendar year. Before you attribute this mass teenage pregnancy to rural illiteracy, lack of electricity, lack of television and all those excuses, let us call to mind that, three weeks ago, it was also reported that 90 girls were known to be pregnant in a single school in Tennessee, United States. This did not happen in a slum in Nairobi, Accra, Abuja, or Harare. It happened in the heart of the United States.
I am neither a sociologist nor a psychologist and so I will not attempt to ascribe rationale for these mass pregnancies. Some have referred to them as Pregnancy Pact, Pregnancy Covenant, and others.
The unfortunate situation is that some (may be most) of these girls would never become what they dreamed of becoming: teachers, pastors, parliamentarians, ambassadors, or doctors. Those who will ever get there will do it by the hard, tortuous way. As for the boys, on other hand, no problem. They can achieve whatever they want to achieve in life with minimal drag from the children who will result from these pregnancies. Some of them will later look down upon these girls as failures and fools.
I need to admit that I do not have data to base this on, but from my personal experience and assumptions, I would assume that most the boys or men involved in the adventure that led the girls into these situations knew of the plastic material called the condom. The never used it. On the other hand, and of course, this is my personal assumption; it is likely that most of the girls were oblivious of whatever options they had that could have prevented what they carry in their immature wombs.
How do we help young girls avoid these situations?
Give Women The Necessary Information:
As usual, many of the parents of these girls perhaps assumed their children were innocent. Well, they are not. In an interview with one of the South African to-be moms, this is what she said
“It’s fashionable to have a baby. You are like a fool if you don’t have sex”
As I have said here a few times, it is vital that parents, teachers and authorities provide young girls and women with the information they need and tell them they too have an option.
They can say NO and IT IS OK TO SAY NO!
If they cannot or do not want to say no, then they have an option, the female condom. The female condom is over 95% effective in preventing HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unwanted pregnancies. Most women have never heard this nor seen it. It’s shame and irresponsible that several years of campaigns have focused solely on the man and the options he has in sexual encounters. In the above unfortunate situation, it is easy to focus only on the teenage pregnancy, but it is important to realize that some of these girls that are not lucky may contract other STDs like Human Papiloma Virus/HPV, Herpes Simplex Virus/HSV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Syphillus.
By equipping these girls with ignorance, we are in essence, cursing their the futures.
I stated: The main disadvantage of the female condom is that it is three times more expensive than the male condom and therefore beyond the means of women in most African communities where the average income is less than a dollar a day. (The cost of the female condom is between $2.50 -$5.00).
Correction:
The cost of the FC2 Female Condom is around $0.60 for governments and donors and lower with increased volume. The $2 price is what FC1 costs on the shelf in a retail drug store in the US. The FC2 was developed to lower the cost of the female condom with intent to increase access to women in Africa. It has same design but different material and different manufacturing process which allows for the significantly lower cost.
An estimated 22.5 million people are living with HIV in the part of African below the Sahara – around two-thirds of the global total. In Ghana alone, there are approximately 260,000 people living with HIV/AIDS with 140,000 being women and 27000 being children. Ghana can count close to 160,000 orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. In fact, Ghana is not among the worst hit countries; South Africa and Uganda for example, have worse numbers.
To some readers, this is just one of those statistics, but it is life and death to hundreds of families and institutions. The social and economic consequences of the AIDS epidemic are far and wide felt: in the African health sector, in education, industry, agriculture, human resources and the economy in general.
In terms of preventive or ‘prophylactic’ measures, the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign hitherto has riveted on promoting the use of the male condom.
Regrettably, however, in many communities in Africa, it is a severely stamina-testing exercise to convince some men embrace the use of the male condom. It is a complex issue that borders on tradition, religion and ignorance. This is compounded by the fact that in almost all cases, it is the man who cleaves to power in sexual relationships. Customarily, in the African ‘sexist society’, the man can choose to have multiple wives or one wife with multiple sexual partners. A woman who practices such a modus vivendi is referred to as a prostitute. It is unfair and effluvium for the party who wields the power to also decide on the means of protection in sexual relationships. I regard it a woman’s right issue to guarantee that women have the wherewithal to protect themselves in sexual relations.
But what is wrong with the male condom?
The campaign to promote the male condom has been going on for decades with some progress. Nevertheless, such progress does not well correlate with the efforts that have been expended. Some of the pretexts some African men put forward in opposition to the use of condoms include the following:
Condoms diminish pleasure or enjoyment of sex
Condoms ruins the mood
You cannot feel anything while wearing a condom
If a women loves a man, then she you should just trust him
in order for sex to be real, fresh must come into contact with fresh (of course, condoms make this pre-requisite unattainable)
Some even think it is sin to use the condoms during sex
For these reasons, I advocate that future anti-HIV campaigns adjust the current model and focus more on promoting the use of the female condom. The female condom should be promoted as an alternative to the male condom and should be available to all sexually active women. I believe that there should be a sharpened campaign to give credence to the female condom in African communities until it ultimately becomes a mainstream accessoryin the woman’s purse.
The Female Condom:
The female condom is a thin, soft loose-fitting polyurethane plastic pouch that is used during intercourse to prevent pregnancy and reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. It has flexible rings at each end. Just before vaginal intercourse, it is inserted deep into the vagina. The ring at the closed end holds the pouch in the vagina. The ring at the open end stays outside the vaginal opening during intercourse. And during anal intercourse, it is inserted into the anus.
The penis is directed into the pouch through the ring at the end, which stays outside the vaginal during the intercourse. By covering the inside of the vagina or anus and keeping semen and pre-cum out, female condoms reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections. Why the Female Condom.
The female condom is more acceptable to most men as it does not constrict the penis as do latex condoms and hence does not result in a significant decrease in sensation.
It gives the woman some amount of power which in most cases is totally vested in the man.
It provides an opportunity for women to share the responsibility for protection with their partners
Research shows that, if women always use the female condom correctly, only 5% of users will report unexpected pregnancy each year. It can even be made more effective if used with a spermicide.
A woman may be able to use the female condom if her partner refuses to use the male condom
Unlike the male condom which is inserted in the heat of the moment and can therefore ruin the mood, the FC or FC2 female condom can be inserted up to 8 hours before intercourse so as not to interfere with the moment.
While the statistic continue remain ugly, it is vital that women take charge over their own health and not depend solely on their partners in making decisions relating to sexual matters.
How Do We Get There?
The main disadvantage of the female condom is that it is three times more expensive than the male condom and therefore beyond the means of women in most African communities where the average income is less than a dollar a day. (The cost of the female condom is between $2.50 -$5.00). This is the gap that the Government, Non-governmental Organizations and Foundations involved in the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign need to fill. By making the female condom easily accessible to all sexually active women in Africa, including prostitutes, we as a nation will make significant advancement in the fight against HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
Again, even as we have done in the past and continue to do with the male condom, we need an aggressive campaign to educate our women that they have an option. Empower the ministries of health to provide free samples to sexually active women whenever the visit any health facility. The media should play their role, community leaders should not be left out, and religious organization should recognize that their support is vital.
The statistics are premonition, but it is not too late to apprehend the trend. The cost will be worth it.
I stated: The main disadvantage of the female condom is that it is three times more expensive than the male condom and therefore beyond the means of women in most African communities where the average income is less than a dollar a day. (The cost of the female condom is between $2.50 -$5.00).
Correction:
The cost of the FC2 Female Condom is around $0.60 for governments and donors and lower with increased volume. The $2 price is what FC1 costs on the shelf in a retail drug store in the US. The FC2 was developed to lower the cost of the female condom with intent to increase access to women in Africa. It has same design but different material and different manufacturing process which allows for the significantly lower cost.
Sexually transmitted diseases are infections that are transmitted through sexual activity. Any sexual activity can transmit the pathogens that cause STD’s. Penile vaginal contact is not a requirement for transmission. You can pick up a sexually transmitted disease through oral genital contact. The vagina, the penis, and the mouth are all lined with mucous membranes and are equally vulnerable to the bacteria and viruses that cause STD’s.
There are various kinds of sexually transmitted diseases and all of them are caused by a microorganism.
Bacterial STD’s
The most common are chlamydia and gonorrhea. Chlamydia is caused by the bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis and gonorrhea is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhea bacterium. Because these two sexually transmitted diseases are caused by bacteria they are treated with antibiotics. However, recently there have been some difficulties with this type of treatment as the causative organisms are developing resistance. Some people may get treated with antibiotics and think they are cured but in fact if they have a resistant variety of pathogen their infection may not be successfully treated and the infection continues to be passed on to others.
Symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia may in fact not be noticed as first. Some people have “silent” infections that do not cause noticeable symptoms until the infection has spread. This is a particularly serious complication in women because if the infection ascends into the uterus and fallopian tubes the woman can have a serious pelvic infection. This is called pelvic inflammatory disease. Infertility can be the result.
Viruses are also a cause of sexually transmitted diseases. The two most common ones are genital herpes and genital warts.
Genital herpes or herpes progenitalis is caused by a virus in the same family as the virus that causes cold sores and chicken pox. All warts are caused by a virus and genital warts are caused by the human pappiloma virus (HPV). HPV in women is known to be cause cervical cancer.
Unlike STD’s caused by bacteria there is no way to cure an infection caused by one of these viruses. Once you have it you have it forever. The virus remains in you for your lifetime. The infection is usually characterized by periods of exacerbation when the virus is active and causing symptoms, and periods of remission when the virus is dormant. During this time skin outbreaks or obvious signs of the disease are not noticeable. However, even during remissions your still have the virus in your system.
Preventing STD’s
Like any type of infection preventing the spread of the causative organism is the best way to control the spread of the illness.
Preventing STD’s means taking responsibility for protecting yourself and others from the transmission of infection. You would not knowingly go up to a person with tuberculosis and allow them to cough in your face. The same precautions are necessary to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases. If you are not in a 100% committed monogamous relationship always use a condom.
Condoms are available everywhere. Grocery stores, pharmacies, corner stores and vending machines make condoms accessible to everyone. You can even order them delivered directly to your door by mail. There is no excuse not to know how to get and use a penile condom.
The male condom is what most people think of when the word condom is used. It is a simple latex sheath that is rolled on over the erect penis. The correct way to use a condom is to make sure that it is applied before contact with skin or mucous membranes. It provides a barrier between the mucous membrane surfaces of the sexual partners and therefore prevents the organism from being passed between the two people.
Female condoms are also available. However, they may not be as readily available as the the more commonly used penile condom. A female condom is best described as a specially designed latex liner for the vagina. On the closed end a ring is necessary to keep the condom in place around the cervix and the external end of the condom has a ring much like a male condom. However, the female condom is not unrolled like a penile condom. In fact it looks more like a small bag with a ring at both ends. It requires practice and skill for proper insertion. Just like its male counterpart, the female condom is a single use item.
Using barrier protection is the single most effective way for preventing STD’s. The female condom provides an alternative to the more commonly used penile condom and allows the female partner to be completely in control of the barrier protection needed to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Sexually transmitted diseases can have serious consequences in your life. Don’t let a microscopic invader change your life forever.
This is a Free Article from Beverly Hansen OMalley
Beverly Hansen OMalley is a nurse who is passionate about health promotion. You are invited to visit www.registered-nurse-canada.com where Bev explores the uniqueness of the nursing profession in Canada including comparison of nurse salary across the country, preparation for the Canadian nursing entrance test and how to become a nurse in Canada if you graduated in another country.
On December 14 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN agency which over ten years ago started a campaign to cut the number of malaria cases and deaths in half by 2010, reported that Malaria is fast declining in countries where it had been endemic. The report was surprisingly optimistic that we could have a malaria-free world by 2015!
The progress on the malaria front did not come by wishful thinking; it was the result of pragmatic efforts on the part of governments and various organizations. In the past three years alone, 578 million people at risk of malaria have been provided with insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Another 75 million have benefited from indoor residual spraying, the report said.
While such a report gladdens our hearts, it should also remind us of the twin brother HIV/AIDS.
Significant efforts have been expended in combating the spread of HIV with some results to show already. However, it is believed that what has been achieved is minimal compared to what is possible if the energy already spent was used to do the right thing most of the time.
There is the popular notion that HIV is caused by people doing stupid things, and some even think it is a curse for our disobedience of natural laws. Surely, there are some who are living with the virus as a result of doing stupid things, but that is just part of the story. In any case, such perception does nothing to save the millions who continue to contract the virus each year. Some of them are our brothers, sisters, uncles, and our teachers.
Rather than perpetuating the stigma associated with AIDS, I will suggest it is time we spend that energy to discuss how to curtail the rate of spread of the killer and save lives of mothers, fathers, and infants, some of whom have to live with the parasite for no fault of theirs.
There are practical ways that work and those are what we need to focus on. I’ll mention only two here for the sake of space.
Case 1: Sharing needles by drug users: The consequences of the use of illicit drugs on the health of our citizens and the effect it has on our economies and health care system are well known. The practice can therefore never be condoned or encouraged
But the reality is that people will continue to abuse drugs. Several studies have established that the sharing of needles by drug users is a significant avenue for contracting the HIV.
The approach here has to be two fold. The first is a continued education on the consequences of sharing needles which I believe is already well known. The second I think should be an effort on the parts of governments and foundations to consider providing accessible avenues by which the addicts can obtain clean needled when the lust for the substance is uncontrollable. They will continue to use the drugs anyway, but why should we look on while such acts continue to overburden the already stressed health and economic structures and continue to add to the AIDS statistics.
Case 2: Laboratory and epidemiologic studies have shown that even though condoms are not 100% HIV/AIDS-proof, the use of condoms in sexual intercourse reduces the risks of HIV infection significantly. We would wish that people will abstain from sex until they’re in a committed relationship, but the reality is that this approach will not work for all. The truth is that HIV is acquired by having unprotected sex with someone carrying the virus, and not just by having sex.
The massive campaign to encourage the provision and use of mosquito nets is yielding results with the possibility that we could have a world without malaria in less than a decade. It’s time to do same for AIDS.
The campaign to encourage people to stay away from sex until marriage or until they’re in a committed relationship should continue. However, this weapon will work for only a fraction of the population. It is time to be practical and tell people in a plain language that if you cannot abstain, then they should simply cover it.
Even though, it may be appear rather radical, I may suggest that Governments, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and foundations working on HIV/AIDS in Africa should consider making condoms (both male and female condoms) available for free to prostitutes (at least, until a solution is found to the problem of prostitution).
Given the choice, I’ll rather opt to use our scarce national resources to do that which will produce tangible and measurable results.
To the toddler taking care of a sick single HIV/AIDS parent, the issue here is not just statistics, it is life.
An estimated 22.5 million people are living with HIV in the part of African below the Sahara – around two thirds of the global total. The use of condom during sex is one of several preventive measures against HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, in most communities, it is difficult to get the men to use the condom.
Some of the excuses men give against the use of condoms are:
it is a sin to use condoms
For these reasons, some anti-HIV campaigns have shifted focus onto the women and educating them to protect themselves if the men will not. The female condom has become and alternative to an increasing number of women which they resort to anytime their partners refuse to use the male condom.
The female condom is a thin, soft loose-fitting polyurethane plastic pouch that is used during intercourse to prevent pregnancy and reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. It has flexible rings at each end. Just before vaginal intercourse, it is inserted deep into the vagina. The ring at the closed end holds the pouch in the vagina. The ring at the open end stays outside the vaginal opening during intercourse. And during anal intercourse, it is inserted into the anus.
If women always use the female condom correctly only 5% of users will report unexpected pregnancy each year. It can even be made more effective if used with a spermicide
Warning: Most spermicides contain nonoxynol-9 which has certain risks. If it is used many times a day, or by people at risk for HIV, it may irritate tissue and increase the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
The major limitation of the female condom reported is the coverage of the external genitalia. This coverage had a particularly negative impact on the device’s aesthetics, and noise associated with use.
Again difficulties associated with insertion and removal, discomfort, messiness and inconvenience are easily reported issues.
With estimated 22.5 million people living with HIV in just the part of African below the Sahara, it’s highly welcomed that women are taking charge over their own health even if their male counterparts aren’t on board yet.
We hope our effort here contributes in some way to the campaign. Our hope is a world without HIV and Malaria.
The penis is directed into the pouch through the ring at the end, which stays outside the vaginal during the intercourse. By covering the inside of the vagina or anus and keeping semen and pre-cum out, female condoms reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections.
The female condom was first made from polyuthrane. This version is officially called the FC FEMALE CONDOM. A newer version is made of nitrile rubber and called FC2. It is made from natural latex; the same material is used in male condoms.
The newer nitrile condoms are less likely to make potentially distracting crinkling noises. FC1 and FC2 are the only female condoms encouraged by the World Health Organization. They are sold under many brand names, including Reality Femidom, Dominique, Femy, My Femy, Protective and Care.
A target campaign to promote the female condom in some African communities is turning it into a mainstream women accessory; more and more now carries the female condom in their purse.
It is more acceptable to the men as it does not result in a significant decrease in sensation as with the male latex condom. Female condoms do not constrict the penis as do latex condoms. As a result, sensitivity of the male partner may not be substantially reduced.
it decreases pleasure or enjoyment of sex
it ruins the mood
I can’t feel anything when I’m wearing a condom
if a women loves me, then she you should just trust me
