February is Health Awareness Month. And government departments are encouraging South Africans to practise self-love by looking after their sexual and reproductive health.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has urged people to continue using condoms to ensure their safety, warning that just because you and your partner are both HIV-negative, does not mean you do not have to use a condom.
The NICD said that HIV is not the only sexually transmitted illness (STI) that people should be concerned with, but there are several other bacteria that cause diseases like gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis, to name a few.
It further said the consistent and correct use of condoms is an effective way to beat STIs when performing oral, vaginal, or anal sex with an infected partner.
A recent study by Wits RHI, which is part of the university’s faculty of health sciences, found that the majority of men still rely on the “pullout” method. The study has condemned this behaviour as irresponsible, saying this does not protect one from getting infected with HIV and STIs.
To wrap up Condom/Pregnancy Awareness Week the Department of Basic Education, in partnership with the Department of Health, on Thursday launched a policy on prevention and management of learner pregnancy in schools.
Spokesperson for the department Elijah Mhlanga said this aimed at addressing the crisis of learner pregnancy, as well as learner dropout rate.
The policy seeks to provide sexual and reproductive health services to enable learners to make informed choices. It also aims to facilitate access for pregnant learners to antenatal care through collaboration with social and sector partners, and non-government organisations, and to ensure that learners returned to school after childbirth.
The departments have also resumed the HPV (human papillomavirus vaccination) rollout to girls as young as nine years at schools to prevent HPV-related cancer later in life. Parents are therefore requested to sign consent forms from schools to give young girls a fighting chance.
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