African youths as a whole do face this problem of having low knowledge on sexual education. They know more while in the field, which actually becomes very dangerous to them and the society in which they live.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases are very common within youths. This is due to their active sexual life style which is mostly never protected. Taking into consideration the various STD’s that does exist, many of them are curable. STD’s that does exist, many of them can be cured. YES!! It’s true, many STD’s can be cured. But what about AIDS??
Many people who have an STD, don’t know it. They may look very healthy, but they still could have an STD. Some people won’t tell you even if they know they have it.
“Looks can be deceiving”.
Among all STD’s there is one that can not be cured, and this is AIDS.
AIDS is a pandemic as it is a disease which is spreading rapidly through a large number of people across the continents. AIDS which is caused by the Human Immune Deficiency Virus(HIV), is a disorder which damages the human body’s immune system.
Results show that, world wide, nearly 1 adult in every 100, between the ages of 15 to 50 is infected with HIV and in 1998, at least 33million people had HIV and another 14million people had died as a result of HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is especially wide spread in the developing world. In some Sub-Saharan countries, AIDS has more than doubled the death rate. In Namibia, AIDS already become the single greatest cause of death. As a result of AIDS, life expectancy also is falling substantially in Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Among region of the world, sub-Saharan Africa and the developing countries of Asia face the worst prospects for AIDS. More than 90% of all people infected with HIV live in these two regions.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: Two-third of all adults living with AIDS are in the Sub-Saharan Africa and 70% of all new HIV infections in 1998 occurred there. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 7% of adults ages 15 to 49 are infected with HIV and in 13 countries at least 10% of the adult population is infected.
The Southern countries have the highest HIV infection rates in the world. In Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, between 18% and 26% of adults ages 15 to 49 are infected.
About 10% of African adults infected with HIV live in Nigeria, the region’s most populous country. Nigerian’s adult infection rate is now about 4% and is continuing to rise.
About 4 of every 5 women and nearly 9 of every 10 children infected with HIV live in Africa. Because the HIV/AIDS epidemic is Sub-Saharan Africa has from it’s start spread primarily through heterosexual relations, women and children have been more affected than in countries where HIV initially spread largely through male-to-male sex or sharing of intravenous drug injection equipment.
In Cameroon at present, about 8 of every 10 youths is infected with HIV. This is mostly common with sexually active youths.
In Asia, there are many cases of HIV/AIDS because of the region’s large population, but fewer than 1% of adults are infected with HIV and in most countries, infection rates are less than 0.5%.Infection rates are higher in certain countries, particularly Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, where about 2% of adults are infected. In Thailand, however, after a period of rapidly increasing prevalence, new infections have been decreasing in response to AIDS prevention programs. Why can such programs not exist in other African countries to save lives??
In India, an estimated 4 million people are infected with HIV, the largest number of HIV-infected people in any country in the world. HIV is still spreading so fast in India like in Cameroon and other African countries and developing countries, that the number of infections could reach 14million in the year 2002.
In China, infection rates are low, but HIV appears to have begun spreading rapidly in Southern China through intravenous drug use and in relatively prosperous Eastern areas through Sex Workers.
There are signs that AIDS prevention programs are beginning to make a difference in some parts of Africa. In areas of Tanzania with active AIDS prevention programs. For example, infection rates have started to decline among young people.
In Uganda, infection rates have fallen substantially among young adults. But now, what about the other African countries, where the youths are still dying every hour, every minute and every second, due to HIV/AIDS. What can we do to as youths to save the lives of our brothers and sisters?? The FLOOR is now open for us to act and take this help of ours GLOBAL.
This actually is a crucial challenge, cause AID/HIV is becoming a critical problem among young men and women. Fully half of all people who become infected with HIV, excluding infants, become infected between ages 10 to 25.
These facts may be startling, but they should come as no surprise. Young people today are marrying later than in older generations but are starting sex just as early. Very few young people use condoms the first time they have sex, despite the risks. Young unmarried people do not consider the long-term consequences of current actions and they take more risk, often thinking “it can’t happen to me.”
In an era of AIDS, young people need guidance, encouragement and access to condoms. We can together create reproductive skills training, guidance and sources.
Youths can learn from every one who can and will offer accurate information and sound guidance, teaching and clergy, the mass media and also from TakingItGlobal(TIG).
Making condoms more available to youths is perhaps the most controversial issue of all. Some counties with many programs make it more difficult for youths to obtain condoms than for adults. What then is the result of such an action?? Automatically there is likely going to be an increase of unsafe sex and an increase in STD’s such as AIDS and also unwanted pregnancy.
In some cases, condoms are often more readily available to young people than other contraceptives, but many young people still have trouble obtaining them. Some people urge condom distribution in schools as the best way to reach youth and send the message that schools want students to protect their health.
To reach youths who are not in school, condoms can be distributed in neighbourhood centres and other places where youths gather.
My own piece of advice that I can share with world youths is:
** STAND UP AGAINST HIV/AIDS.
** DON’T TAKE CHANCES.
** ALWAYS USE A CONDOM EACH TIME, EVERY TIME.
** CORRECT USE OF CONDOMS PROTECTS YOU FROM AIDS/HIV AND OTHER STD’s.
** DON’T BE FOOLED, AIDS IS NOT WITCHCRAFT, AIDS IS REAL
** AVOID SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE, STICK TO ONE PARTNER OR USE A CONDOM.
I will be very much delighted if other youths in developed countries can put hands together and joins fight against HIV/AID and other STD’s.
I can be contacted personally through:
ALEX STANLEY NDANJE NJIEKO
C/O Mr. FONGOD EDWIN
BP :291 BONANJO DOUALA
CAMEROON
Email: nalexstanley@yahoo.com or alexnjieko@hotmail.com
AIDS has been called a disease of behaviour. If more people avoided risky sexual behaviour by using condoms or abstaining from sex, they could avoid contracting STD’s and AIDS also.
In some cultures, powerful norms about masculinity discourage condom use and encourage sexual risk-taking by men, such as visiting Commercial Sex Workers(CSW’s) and having multiple sex partners. Some people may think wrongly because they distrust them or dislike their image. Of course, more people would use condoms if they were more accessible and promoted more.
In Africa especially, Social and Cultural norms, particularly gender norms often discourage people from using condoms even when they risk contracting and STD. Norms encourage men to take sexual risks and also discourage women from questioning their partners about sexual activity.
Young girls are often exposed to such dangers whereby they are being obliged to get married to very sexually active monogamous men who still have sex out of their matrimonial home. In general, when women are dependent on men, it is more difficult for them to protect their own reproductive health. For example, in East and Central Africa, women who believe that their husband are infected with HIV still agree to sex without condoms, because having children is important to their status in the family and community. Even wives who know that their husbands have extramarital affairs may feel afraid to suggest condoms. Many wives fear that asking to use condoms would provoke their husband to accuse them of infidelity, to react violently or abandon them.
The spread of HIV/AIDS is highly increasing in Africa because a majority of youths and some adults do not have much knowledge about condoms. Some have, but tradition and self decision do not permit them to use it. Many African parents find it a type taking about sex and condoms with their child. For them, the child is not to know any thing about sex. Only God knows what this child does out of home..
Most youths have unprotected sex because they have never been told or advice to use condoms in an opportunity that presents, but they have been completely warned about sex, which is not really the best idea or solution to protect them from AIDS. Parents are to take time and teach their child(ren), the importance of condoms, not only discourage them from sex.
70% of HIV/AIDS children come from monogamous homes, separated homes and home with a lot of disorder, full of conflicts between the parents, where non of the parents cares much about the children’s sexual life.
As a matter of fact, condoms suffer an image problem. Some people have a negative view of condoms because of personal experience with them, but more often the problem is bad reputation, false rumours and myths. People often associate condoms with uncleanness, illicit sex, infidelity and immoral behaviour.
In Brazil and Guatemala, women interviewed said that the condom is for “women of the street, not the home.”
In Jamaica the condom is for “outside, not inside the relationship.”
In South Africa the condom is for use only with “ back-pocket partners.”
In West Africa, like in Cameroon, many men believe that condom use is appropriate with their girlfriends or casual partners but not with their wives.
Well, changing negative perceptions of condoms can help increase condom use and reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS infection. For some people the risk of AIDS appear vague and distant and thus not worth worry compared with the inconvenience and loss of sexual pleasure that they associate with condoms.
Actually, most people who have heard of AIDS also know about condoms. Condoms can be effective at preventing both pregnancy and STD’s. For condoms to be effective, people must use them consistently and correctly. If youths and adults in Africa and other developing countries can be encouraged to use condoms when they go in for any sexual activity, the rate of HIV/AIDS spread can be reduced. It’s left to youths now to mobilise them selves and see what they can do for their generation and for those who are not yet born.
We should not fold our hands and wait for God’s help or a miracle to come down from heaven and save us by eradicating AIDS from society completely nor let our brothers and sisters die before we take action. Together with all the youths in the world, I think and I am strongly convinced that, we the youths can make a change.
We can change this world to be a more better place even in the presence of AIDS.
As a point of advice, if youths or adults think they can not abstain from sex, using Latex Condom makes a deal. For laboratory test show that no STD, including HIV, can not penetrate an intact latex condom.(Infectious organism can sometimes pass through condoms made o lamb’s intestine, often called natural skin condoms; so they should be used only for contraception, not infection prevention)
Many books do talk on how HIV/AIDS is being spread. Well, in general, HIV is carried in the body fluids. The most important are semen, blood, breast milk and vaginal fluid. HIV is spread primarily through sexual contacts that passes body fluids from one person to another. It also can be spread by contaminated blood or blood products, by hypodermic needles contaminated with such blood and from an infected woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
A person may have HIV for years before any symptoms appear. Although people may know that they are infected and they do not look or feel sick, they still are can pass HIV to others.
For physiological reasons, studies proof that a woman is more likely to contract HIV/AIDS sexually from an infected man than a woman is to infect a man. The percentage of HIV-positive adults who are women has risen from 25% estimated in 1990 to 46% in late 2000 and appears to be still rising.
In African countries, Cameroon especially, HIV/AIDS is widely spread amongst youths of ages 15 to 26. This is mostly trough unprotected sex due to their sexually active life. Some youths say :“ sex with a condom is not enjoyable, so we prefer ‘full contact’(sex without condom).”
With this mentality, what more do we expect, but a high HIV/AIDS. Some youths do not use condoms because they can’t freely get it and some might be ashamed to be regarded as some one bad when buying it. So they go in and bare the risk, which automatically, changes their whole life.
I met many youths in my area, some of my age and others younger and older than me. I asked them what usually push them to have sex, and these are the answers I managed to get from the few who responded:
--I have sex because I want to be accepted by my boy friend (18yrs old girl)
--Having sex makes me feel good especially when places are cold (21yrs old girl)
--It’s fun having sex, cause all my friends do it too! ha ha ha (20yrs old boy)
--I had sex some time ago to experiment it. (16yrs old boy)
--I can’t stay without it. In short, I love it. (25yrs old boy)
--I have sex with my boy friend because I love him (22yrs old girl)
--I saw my brother doing it several times so I started, just for fun (18yrs old boy)
--It’s easy to have sex than to talk about it or say no(20yrs old girl)
Many youths do put their lives in danger ignorantly. Having sex is not the problem. Actually, sex is good. But when doing it or when about to do it, most youths never think of what the after effects may be. At the very moment, the tension for sex is there, burning like hot coal with no sense organ functioning normally, but the whole mind and spirit concentrated on the act, not even taking I to consideration the fact that AIDS and other STD’s does exist or unwanted pregnancy for a female.
It’s more better to protect your self when ever you are about to has sex. Taking precautions is the best thing to do, for “Prevention is better than cure”. As youths, there are certain things w need to think of and let others know about too. As an advice, before having sex, think of the follow:
1-Is this something I really want to do at this point in my life?
2-Am I protected from any STD’s or pregnancy?
3-Am I ready to be a parent if this turns out badly and produces a baby?
4-Am I going to feel bad afterwards because this goes against my personal values?
These are actually some of the questions youths are to ask themselves before involving themselves in to any sexual activity.
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