Students from the University of Rwanda are set to distribute a total of 27,000 condoms in communities in a bid to curb the spread of HIV/AIDs among the youth. Anaclet Ahishakiye, Executive Director of Community Health Boosters Organization - a youth-led body that was founded by students from the University of Rwandas College of Medicine and Health Sciences - said that among the beneficiary communities include universities across the country. The drive is part of celebration of International Condom Day (ICD), on February 13 ahead of Valentines Day on Sunday. The day’s celebration will be held under the theme “Use Condom, Be Safe”. Campaign was inaugurated before Valentines Day as a way of breaking stigma and misinformation on Condom use. “This aims to prevent teenage and unwanted pregnancies, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases more prevalent in the youth and adolescents,” he said. The number of condoms to be distributed will increase year by year to ensure that the condom use is normalised and adopted as the daily protective material, he noted. Over the last decades, Rwanda has made notable achievements towards ending HIV/AIDS. However there still is a long way to go, health experts say. The Sixth Rwanda Demographic Health Survey reported a decrease in teenage pregnancies from 7.3% to 5.2% but alarm was raised over youth who continue to transmit or contract the virus due to unprotected sex. “A big number of teenage and unwanted pregnancies and new cases of HIV/AIDS are still being recorded and we have to act as youth,” Ahishakiye said. Why reluctance in using condoms? Recent survey findings, presented in December last year by Afro Ark, a non-government organisation on new HIV infections among key populations (sex workers) in Gasabo District, have revealed that 45 per cent of them do not use condoms, and this is hindering the fight against HIV/AIDS. At least 38 per cent of those aged between 15 and 24 say they don’t use condoms all the time. Reasons for not using condoms ranged from misguided trust among sexual partners while others, like commercial sex workers, cited being paid a lot of money to have unprotected sex. Another reason that was established was alcohol abuse where people in a stupor tend to let their guard down, while others say men reject condoms claiming that they do not feel pleasure when using them. They also say that consuming drugs that prevent HIV infection leads to not using condoms, while others cite shortage of condoms in shops nearby or lack of condom kiosks in their neighbourhoods. HIV prevalence in Rwanda stands at 3% with 2.5% in rural areas, and 4.8% in urban areas, according to latest figures from the Ministry of Health. Available data also shows that more women (3.7%) are infected compared to men (2.2%).
