A condom a day keeps the doctor away

By Gilbert Kidimu

For decades, abstinence campaigns have flooded secondary school halls, planned motherhood has been the subject matter in the numerous discussions, and HIV awareness campaigns have reached the remotest villages.

But in spite of these fervent efforts, reproductive health remains a pronounced challenge in Uganda.

The average woman gives birth to 6 children, contraceptive use remains low, and new HIV infections are hitting an all-time high.

A Uganda Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) report says, Uganda has one of the world’s highest fertility rates and the population grows by 3.2% annually, thanks to an average 6.2 child births per woman. 1 in 3 married Ugandan women (34%) wish to delay childbirth or space their children but do not access contraceptives. 1 in 4 girls aged 15-19 are pregnant or are already mothers, and only 1 in 4 women (26%) use a modern form of contraception. UNFPA further reveals that lack of access, widespread myths and misperceptions and gender roles are among the reasons why contraceptive uptake remains low.

At the same time, Uganda is experiencing a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic with prevalence rates increasing from 6.4% in 2006 to 7.3% in 2013. Prevalence rates among key populations at risk including sex workers, fishing communities, transient traders and uniformed forces, are significantly higher with an estimated HIV prevalence among sex workers and their clients of 37% and 16% respectively.

Female condoms and women’s reproductive rights the way to go

On account of the aforementioned predicament, the Danish Embassy in Uganda has since 2011 supported UNFPA to implement a national multimedia campaign aiming to get more Ugandans to use condoms.

The report rights condoms as the only contraceptive offering dual protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. There is a near universal knowledge about condoms among adult Ugandans; however according to the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey this knowledge is not translated into use as only 2.7% report using condoms on a regular basis.

In order to increase uptake, Danida is supporting UNFPA to implement a refreshing and attractive multimedia campaign dubbed “If it is not on, it is not safe.”

Danida specifically wanted to focus on female condoms, as they are the only dual protection method designed to be initiated by women. When explaining this strategic focus, Denmark’s ambassador to Uganda, Dan E. Frederiksen, refers to the importance of strengthening women’s sexual and reproductive rights:

“Uganda’s population is very young and the country is experiencing a rapid population growth; therefore, putting reproductive health and contraceptive use on the agenda is a priority to us,” says Frederiksen adding:  “At the same time, we wanted to increase awareness about female condoms as a way to empower women and improve their sexual and reproductive rights.”

He further points out that reproductive health not only benefits a woman and her family, it is also closely linked to women’s status and gender equality.

According to Anne Akia Fiedler, Chief of Party, USAID/CHC, the “If it is not on, it is not safe” campaign represents an important contribution to HIV prevention programming in Uganda. As far as results are concerned, it is still too early to determine the campaign’s impact on condom use in Uganda. However; preliminary feedback indicates that the campaign is generating a lot of debate around condom use.

Did you know?

According to Uganda Nations Populations Fund, condoms are the only contraceptive method that offers dual protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Condoms have been around for a long time. The earliest known illustration of a man using a condom is a 12,000-15,000 year old wall painting in a cave in France.

In 2013, Uganda procured almost 184 million male condoms and 5.4 million female condoms. To satisfy the country’s need, a total of 255 million condoms are needed.

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