Nicholas Sengoba
26 August 2008
opinion
There are times when life serves us with unpleasant surprises. You meet a man full of life, shake his hand, crack a few jokes and fondly slap his back, then part ways. A few hours later, he is as unbelievably dead as a door bolt.
That is the summary of the last day in the life of Patrick Ssegawa (RIP). As the euphemism goes, Ssegawa "had not been okay for sometime," but he cheerfully soldiered on until the grim reaper abruptly called time on him.
The writer of Ecclesiastes (12 :5) tells us that when a man dies, mourners go about the streets -to continue with their lives. It is when I was "going about the streets" after the interment of Ssegawa that I reflected on the fight against HIV/Aids in Uganda.
Sadly more people are getting infected daily leading to a 'recorded' annual total of about 132,000 new infections. A 'recorded' number of about 312,000 victims urgently need access to antiretroviral drugs, yet only 125,000 are on treatment. And that treatment is not guaranteed. Stocks are wont to run out leaving the lives of the patients at risk during breaks running from weeks to months.
The inverted comas on the word recorded means that there other victims of the HIV/Aid pandemic who are outside the official score. Many of these ascribe their condition to witchcraft but still remain sexually active so the tally is definitely much higher.
For years, Uganda successfully applied a multi-pronged strategy combining abstinence, being faithful to one partner and using the condom during sexual intercourse hence the acronym ABC.
But the 'C' was a very controversial option from the onset.
In the 90s, the defunct Weekly Topic newspaper ran a front page advert with a sketch of a sealed condom. Below the condom were the printed words, "the Bible may save your soul, but this will save your life!" Many clerics and moralists took exception to the advert claiming it was not only blasphemous but also encouraged "irresponsible" sexual behaviour.
That, condoms charm people into having sex by 'fallaciously' assuring them of safety is an enduring argument that the church and other moral crusaders have used to influence policies geared towards shooting down the condom. In its stead, abstinence, faithfulness, and of late circumcision which is claimed to reduce the chances of infection by 60 per cent, have gained prominence.
But for the moment whatever we are doing, saying or preaching, it appears as long as the devil is in hell; people are increasingly falling for the temptation to have sex outside of marriage. Even pastors and priests full of anointing have not been left out; some reportedly going right "at the back" and engaging in acts of sodomy and paedophilia (sex with children).
The trouble with sex is that it isn't like a moustache on the face; from which one can easily tell the bearer's shaving history. A man may have sex and go about the streets a few minutes later without anyone realising that he has been up to some 'mischief.'
That is why society gets 'shocked' when a happily married God-fearing man or woman is discovered to be a victim of HIV/Aids. And it is increasing among married couples who swore at God's altar to have and to hold one and only one partner. This, in a country where over 80 per cent of the population are professing Christians.
We definitely are passionately preaching water and hypocritically drinking wine at some point in time. The facts and figures are telling on us. It is therefore important that we climb down the idealistic high horse and firmly place our feet on the ground of reality.
Since the leading avenue of HIV/Aids infection is heterosexual encounters, it is only right and fitting that the first line of defence should be at the instant where the penis penetrates the vagina. And it must do so with protection. That protection is the condom. Even if it is not 100 per cent safe.
Before we speak to anyone about abstinence and faithfulness, we should give them a condom and teach them how to use it, just in case Lucifer unexpectedly calls the parts that hide underneath the loin cloth, into action. That way the chances of a cheating husband carrying the virus from his casual partners to his innocent un-empowered wife, will be minimised. So will the number of Aids orphans and the need for charitable organisations (some church-based) many of which are making money masquerading as "philanthropists."
At the risk of sounding cynical, it is quite obvious that in the pragmatic world full of promiscuity, the most serious and practical defence against HIV/Aids; the condom, receives little support for its potential to harm the "Aids industry" and all its beneficiaries.
The condom puts life in your hands. Keep it nearby for use in case "silly ideas" that render you incapable of abstaining and being faithful, spring up. You are only human.
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