World marks international condom day
By: Ben Okiror, The New Vision
Uganda - February 17, 2010
Uganda today joins 12 other countries in marking the International Condom Day, with emphasis on HIV prevention. The ceremony in Soroti will involve free HIV counselling and testing and condom distribution.
According to the programme director at Uganda Cares, Dr. Lydia Buzaaliwa, the use of condoms is the cheapest and most proven method in HIV prevention. “However, condoms cannot be used in isolation; they should be used alongside other prevention methods,” Buzaaliwa said.
She said they chose Soroti because it is their second largest treatment centre after Masaka, where Uganda Cares provides HIV care and ARVs. The day was launched last year by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in the US as an informal holiday observed in conjunction with Valentine’s.
Terri Ford, the senior director of Global Policy and Advocacy at AHF. “Valentine's weekend is the perfect time to re-enforce the message to ‘Love yourself, love your Partner.’”
In Uganda, there was a weeklong campaign, involving condom awareness among boda boda cyclists in Soroti. The cyclists also distributed flyers and free condoms to their passengers and other people.
- The New Vision
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/709913
