AHF Harps On Safe Sex Ahead of Valentine’s Day

As Valentine’s Day commences next week, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has planned both an in-person and virtual event to commemorate International Condom Day (ICD) 2023, which will be held on Valentine’s eve, as an advocacy to highlight the importance of condoms and help people take control of their health, through access to safer sex education and promotion of responsible behaviour.

According to AHF, condom advocacy is more vital than ever, with more than one million sexually transmitted infections acquired daily across the globe and the world falling woefully short on HIV prevention goals in 2021.

“But we can turn the tide by working to ensure people worldwide can access condoms wherever they live – as condoms remain the most affordable way to prevent HIV, other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies,” Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy, said.

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In Nigeria, AHF Nigeria, in collaboration with National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the United Nations Population Fund Nigeria (UNFPA), will host a Twitter-Space on February 12, while a panel discussion would be held on February 13, where a creative competition on safe sex would be adjudged.

“Knowledge about HIV and STI prevention among adolescent is generally low. In this regard, we see the need to educate them about the importance of practicing safe sex by ensuring we make the commodity easily accessible to the population,” said Dr. Echey Ijezie, AHF Nigeria Country Programme Director.

Dr. Gambo Aliyu, Director General of NACA, stated that, “It has become important to ensure condom option is made available as a preventive measure to youths and people of reproductive age who may not abstain from sex, given the rate of new HIV infections among young people aged 15 to 24 years, which calls for strengthened age and context-specific programming in this population.”