|
|
 |
Minister of Health speaks at the National STI/Condom Week Event
Minister of Health's National STI/Condom Week Speech. 09 February 2003.
|
In many other countries, this week is only known as Condom Week. But here in South Africa, we have extended our campaign and called this a STI/Condom week.
It is critical that we intervene against sexually transmitted infections. Apart from the morbidity they cause, including infertility, abortions, ectopic pregnancies, stillbirths, prematurity and cervical cancer, there is a significantly greater risk of a person acquiring HIV when s/he has a conventional STI. The presence of a genital ulcer, for example, increases the risk of acquiring HIV 10 times.
Because of the relationship between Sexually Transmitted Infections and the spread of HIV, the STI / Condom Week has become one of our most important national focus weeks. It is now one of the cornerstones of our public health campaign to educate and empower South Africans from all walks of life about STI's, their prevention, treatment and the link between STI's and various other health challenges including HIV and AIDS. This year's STI / Condom Week theme - "Just the two of us" - covers the confidentiality aspect of an individual's STI status and relationships among partners.
Apart from the official opening of parliament and an important address from our President, President Thabo Mbeki, there is another thing that is very important which we will be observing next Friday, the 14th of February. That is the Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is an established tradition usually celebrated with an exchange of gifts between two people, and signifying a declaration, proposal, or affirmation of love. The giving of gifts to the one you love is known in many cultures. In the Xhosa culture it is called the practice of ukundanda. This involves the giving of a gift, usually of an item made of beads to be worn on the wrist or pinned by a lover to one returning from initiation. The idea of a gift made of beads given by the man to his women lover also exists in other traditions. In Zulu, the term for this is "ucu".
The main focus of Valentine's Day is relationships and intimacy. As this day falls within STI/Condom week, we want to increase awareness of and understanding of what STI's are and what are their symptoms. We want to encourage people to tell or notify their partners if they have these infections. We want to motivate everyone to seek health advice and treatment - which is available at all government clinics and health centres.
Reaching everyone with messages and interventions such as the treatment of STI's is an ongoing challenge. We have to deal with many factors that put people at risk of contracting STI's including HIV. This includes people often being separated from their families and communities, limited recreational options within our communities, alcohol and substance abuse as well as commercial sex.
Last year as the Department of Health, we launched the "Men In Partnership Against AIDS" which remains a crucial development in our prevention programmes. Within the national Partnership Against AIDS, men are one of the most significant sectors - and one that can make the greatest difference right now. I want to speak to the men that are present here today.
Broadly speaking, men are expected to be physically strong, emotionally robust, daring and virile. Men can and must unite to protect South Africa's women and children from violence, disease and rape. The rape of our women and children must stop! As men, let us protect our mothers, partners, sisters and children from these social ills.
However, we must remember that men are also vulnerable to various health risks too. With the exception of a few countries, men have a shorter life expectancy at birth than women. Stereotypes about manliness expose men to health risk including those related to sexual and alcohol abuse.
Men often delay seeking health care for illnesses, such as STI's that could be prevented or cured and thereby, putting themselves and their partners in danger. Too often they see themselves as untouchable to illness or risk and this is reflected in the under utilisation of health services by men.
I believe that greater attention must be given to the health needs of men, including those
infected with STI's. Part of the concern is that men's behaviour put women at risk. In many communities, women are stigmatised for admitting that they have an STI. Because of fear of retribution from either their partners or the communities, some women fail to seek medical help.
In other cases, women would come to public institutions for treatment. They get effective treatment because health workers in more than 80% of our facilities have been trained in syndromic management of STI?’s. These women go home and get re-infected by men who either have not sought treatment or have received often less effective treatment in the private sector. It is therefore critical that we encourage the private health sector to adopt the same approach as the public sector in treating these infections. Or encourage men to utilize public health facilities. You should know that the price is not the best indicator of a good quality service.
This does not mean we have to cut down prevention programmes for women and girls or that we should ignore them. Everyone is at risk of infection irrespective gender, status or sexuality. But you also have a right and a duty to protect yourself and your partner from STI's.
If you suspect that you may have an STI, talk to your partner and visit your nearest clinic. Some obvious symptoms include discomfort when urinating or itching, swelling or burning in the genital area. However, there are some STI's that do not have apparent symptoms. So if you have engaged in unprotected sex - which you should not - or you or your partner has had other sexual partners, it is best to visit your local clinic and get checked.
While this is a national condom week event, I want to make sure that all us here understand the government message with regard to prevention of sexually transmitted including HIV as encompassed in our ABC campaign.
We are emphasizing that people, especially young people, should delay their sexual debut and abstain from sex for as long as possible. If and when you decide to get involved in a sexual relationship, be faithful to your partner. This is very critical because it reinforces our efforts with regard to moral regeneration. We need to discourage promiscuity and multiple sexual relationships that often push women further into disadvantaged situations.
As government we are cognisant of the fact that there are also people who cannot be able to abstain or be faithful to their partners. We therefore encourage consistent and correct use of a quality condom...
For the full version of this speech, please click on the link on the righthand side of this page
|
| Was this article helpful to you? |
 ?75%???? ?25%
|
|
Back
|
|
|
|
