Do We Lack Condoms or Sex Education

Has the youth forgotten about Hiv AIDS? or have they assumed that since the anti-retroviral therapy (ART), drug is available there is no need to panic. In recent times I have heard young people talking about who they have had sex with, the number of times and how cheap or easy sex is now. Who should be blamed? Does parenting and parenthood still exist in our homes? Or do we Lack Of proper Sex Education? Does the youth listen, do we learn? Let me be a little funny here, " has the depreciation of the cedi affected the price of condoms or purchasing condom is difficult ".

It's obvious that these Tema students who have tested positive for HIV, engaged in unprotected sex. Sex before marriage " fornication ", in this current society we live in. Sex before marriage is a crime, both religiously and culturally. In many parts of the African continent where tradition still stand like a old tree, if one is found having pre marital sex will be punished. Likewise some religions, I don't know much about Christians but in the Muslim world punishment is given if found in that act. A total of Fifty-four students between 14 and 19 years tested positive for HIV in the Tema metropolis between January and September this year. Thirteen others aged 13 to 19 also tested positive for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and have since been put on counselling and treatment. According to health officials, children between nine and 10 years had become sexually active, but they were unable to take precautions owing to the lack of sexual education. The Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, Dr John Yabani, disclosed. According to Dr Yabani, the statistics were alarming and required the needed urgency to prevent increased infections among students in the metropolis.

From my " Rafiu fishbone " is quite hard to tell a young girl or boy between the ages of 14+ what to do and what not to do. They feel the know everything, all their questions, Google has the answers. I personally, can't blame the ladies for falling in the traps of these guys who go round telling friends who he had sex with this girl or that lady. Love they say it blind, but I do want to remind my ladies that using your head and heart could also help. Remember " is it love, that is blind, not you ". For parenting, I can't blame it on parents or children, from my point of view, people who fall below 20years are quite stubborn, they hardly listen to their parents, compared to those between 23+. But parents should also try their possible best to keep up with their children when they are still young, monitor their movement, activities etc. It's very unfortunate these students tested positive for HIV, it's not too late, I believe the Ghana AIDS commission and others can come to the aid of the students and help them emotionally to overcome the thoughts of being HIV positive. And to the fortunate once I believe this is just another reminder that HIV AIDS still exist and one should be care, faithful, Loyal and abstain. There is a huge difference between love and sex. Being in love does not mean having sex, neither does having sex means showing love.

Dr Yabani attributed the rise in STI infections to the break down of families which had left many children being raised by single parents. He pointed out that the health directorate had put in place a system by which community health officers would undertake house-to-house counselling and testing. That, he said, was to ensure early detection for appropriate actions to be taken Dr Yabani expressed concern at the seeming disinterest in adolescent health issues by parents and other relevant stakeholders and stressed the need for community and opinion leaders to scale up sensitisation to curb infections. The health directorate, he emphasised, had also engaged the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the formation of sports clubs in schools within the metropolis. That, he pointed out, could be used to engage students and young people periodically, especially when fun games were organised. Dr Yabani tasked parents to engaged their children and teach them about the consequences of unsafe sex.

HIV treatment has been proven so successful that in many parts of the world HIV has become a chronic condition in which progression to AIDS has become increasingly rare. Anthony Fauci, head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has written "With collective and resolute action now and a steadfast commitment for years to come, an AIDS-free generation is indeed within reach." In the same paper he notes that an estimated 700,000 lives were saved in 2010 alone due to antiretroviral therapy. As another commentary in The Lancet noted, "Rather than dealing with acute and potentially life-threatening complications, clinicians are now confronted with managing a chronic disease that in the absence of a cure will persist for many decades" The US Department of Health and Human Services and other organizations recommend offering antiretroviral treatment to all patients with HIV. Because of the complexity of selecting and following a regimen, the potential for side-effects, and the importance of taking medications regularly to prevent viral resistance, such organizations emphasize the importance of involving patients in therapy choices and recommend analyzing the risks and the potential benefits. There are five classes of drugs, which are usually used in combination, to treat HIV infection. Use of these drugs in combination can be termed anti-retroviral therapy (ART), combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) or highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). Anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs are broadly classified by the phase of the retrovirus life-cycle that the drug inhibits. Typical combinations include 2 NRTIs as a "backbone" along with 1 NNRTI, PI or INSTI as a "base."