Surihe Gaomas
2 December 2005
Windhoek — THE National Social Marketing Association (NASOMA) joins today's global events marking World AIDS Day with its oft-repeated preventive message that appeals for abstinence, faithfulness and consistent use of condoms to avoid infection.
Under the theme "Stop Aids! Keep the Promise!" NASOMA advises young people that condoms are not only effective in preventing HIV infection, but that it is a simple and effective tool to prevent unwanted pregnancies, ultimately reducing child mortality and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Established in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Services in August 2000, NASOMA is a programme tailored around the reduction of HIV infections through innovative preventative strategies where condom and femidom distribution plays a decisive role in the HIV/AIDS campaign.
In an interview with New Era yesterday, the Country Director of NASOMA, Hosky //Gowaseb, said that for the past five years, the programme has effectively driven home the importance of condom and femidom usage in the country.
Based on their annual 'Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Study' linked to condom sales "70 percent of the Namibian population know about HIV/AIDS and the risks involved."
NASOMA, regarded as one of the most successful social marketing programmes in the world, last year managed to sell 1,4-million condoms in the country, with an average 100 000 femidoms being distributed every year.
However, //Gowaseb feels continuous awareness still needs to be done to reach people across the country.
"Namibians are protecting themselves, but the education campaign is not enough. We need to strive to reach each and every individual and that's our vision for next year," said //Gowaseb. He also says the message needs to reach out to the remotest parts in rural areas.
As part of World AIDS Day commemorations, NASOMA encourages businesses and various organisations to become part of the HIV/AIDS campaign. "We encourage workplaces to buy condoms and female condoms for distribution to educate their staff members more about HIV/AIDS through their HIV/AIDS workplace programmes," explained //Gowaseb.
The only way to beat or stand firm against the HIV/AIDS pandemic is when both the public and private sector together with the community take vigorous action.
Since the female condom was only introduced in the country in 2001, a lot needs to be done for people to make use of this product, particularly women and vulnerable groups such as sex workers, truck drivers and rural communities.
However, as part of its activities, NASOMA teams conduct regular visits to commercial sex workers and truck ports where the programme has made significant impact on the sexual behaviour patterns of those targeted for this initiative.
Many of the sex workers are themselves directly involved in educating their peers about condom use and other reproductive health concerns.
"We are aggressively marketing the female condom amongst sex workers and truck drivers for maximum protection," he added.
"Sometimes, it happens that truck drivers pay more to sex workers if they don't use a condom and that is why the use of the female condom for these women becomes more imperative to save lives."
The Ministry of Health and Social Services is also expected to receive a batch of 400 000 female condoms for free distribution from the Global Aids Fund before the end of next month.
The biggest component of the NASOMA programme is geared towards behaviour change and awareness. "Through information awareness, we are trying to change people's behaviour when it comes to HIV/AIDS," he concluded.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2005 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
