The AIDS Health Care Foundation (AHF), an NGO, says it will distribute 1.5 million condoms in Nigeria as part of activities to commemorate the 2017 World Condom Day.
The Country Director of AHF, Dr Adetayo Towolawi, made this known during the commemoration of 2017 World Condom Day on Monday in Abuja.
He said that the distribution of the condoms, with other activities lined up for this year’s occasion, would help increase awareness on the use of condom and its role in preventing HIV and AIDS.
The director said that condom played an important role on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
Towolawi said the day coincided with a prelude to the Valentine’s Day, noting that where people shares time with their love, HIV also found time to spread within the period.
“In order to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS while expressing sexuality, we need you to take care of your sexual and reproductive health by using condom correctly,’’ he said.
The country director said the foundation had been distributing condoms and conducting free medical outreaches.
He disclosed that in the last five years, the foundation had distributed between 1.5 million and two million condoms annually.
Dr Kema Onu, AHF FCT Coordinator, said the foundation would use the event as a platform to reach out areas difficult to capture on safer sex awareness campaigns.
He observed that many people knew about condom but very few people wanted to use it, stressing that the event will preach a behavioural change towards condom usage.
Earlier, Dr Sani Aliyu, the Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), said that the agency in collaboration with partners would focus more on creating awareness that HIV/AIDS was very much with us.
“The main message is that if you are not sexually active, abstinence is the best way to stop acquiring HIV/AIDS.
“But if you are sexually active make sure you know your HIV/AIDS status and use a condom as much as possible to protect yourself.
“So, if you do not know your status, this event is an opportunity for you to have a HIV test for free,” he said. The World Condom Day is observed on Feb. 13 annually.
