Sexually Transmitted Infections and Condom Week provincial event, at
Dewetsdorp
13 February 2007
Programme Director,
Ladies and gentlemen:
The second week of every February has been declared the National Sexually
Transmitted Infections (STIs) Week. This year we are celebrating the focus week
from the 11 to 17 February. During this week, emphasis is placed on the
prevention of STIs and the comprehensive syndromic management of STIs are
explained to clients. Health workers in health facilities also encourage the
use of barrier methods during sexual intercourse. We intensify condom
distribution especially in high transmission areas.
During this week, health workers encourage youth to delay sexual debut,
reinforce the ABC prevention messages among all age groups, promote awareness
of symptoms and facilitate access to appropriate information and prompt
treatment of STIs as well as encourage women and girls to take responsibility
for their own reproductive health.
It is a well known fact that the best known STI in recent times is HIV and
it is not surprising that there is a connection between STI and HIV in many
respects, e.g. the way the transmission occurs, the prevention of both and
stigma associated with acquisition of both. It is therefore imperative that our
community take special cognisance of these two conditions or diseases,
especially because they can both be prevented in the same way, by applying the
Abstinence, Be faithful, Condomise and Drugs (ABCD) recipe. The community must
be on the lookout for the signs and symptoms of STIs and must strive for the
early treatment of STIs once detected. Our primary healthcare facilities still
provide for the best and free service of STIs. The strategy used for the
management of STIs is the syndromic management which emphasises the collective
management of STIs
The progress in the management of STIs in the past three years has been hard
and rewarding and the Department has put the following strategies in place for
the management of the programme:
* condom distribution
* training of professional nurses
* the implementation of the HTA or High Transmission Area projects
* research of STI conditions and patterns.
Programme Director, I am pleased to say that we have seen a rise in the
distribution of male condoms within the Free State. A slight decrease was
experienced last year due to the site being closed because of problems
experienced with the distributor. The other reason is the increase uptake of
female condoms.
The Department has also provided training to traditional healers to enable
them to participate in the distribution of condoms. A total of 21 traditional
healers have been trained.
Ladies and gentlemen, female condoms are distributed mainly through
identified sites within a specific health district and the aim is to make them
available to all those who need them. Presently high transmission area projects
have been identified to distribute together with some primary healthcare
clinics. The ultimate goal is to make it available to all clinics within the
province. The essential part is that whoever wishes to distribute female
condoms must be trained first. The Department has procured 400 female condoms
signs which will be used to identify clearly where female condoms are
available.
Programme Director, the high transmission area project is addressing the
issue of High Transmission Areas within the Free State or the so-called "hot
spots". Service provided in such areas include condom distribution, education
about STIs and appropriate counselling, referral for STI management and
distribution of educational materials.
Presently there are 11 high transmission areas within the Free State, at an
average of two sites per district except in Thabo Mofutsanyana where it is
three. These projects are using 85 volunteers (who have all been in-service
this year) to reach out to the appropriate communities including 65 farms
around Van Stadensrus and Smithfield. An estimated 38 253 people are
beneficiaries of this service throughout the province.
Over 1 048 171 male condoms and 17 908 female condoms and 16 015 STI
pamphlets and booklets have been distributed throughout the high transmission
areas' within the province.
Training for health workers especially in the management of STIs has been a
priority. The training is three-day course which is aimed at professional
nurses managing STIs within clinics. With good training professional nurses are
in a better position to manage STIs comprehensively and adequately. Hundred and
nineteen facilities trained.
Programme Director, the STI programme is also involved in research projects
which inform the Department about the progress and the state of STI management
within the province. One such study is called "The Clinical Sentinel
Surveillance" which provides for additional information about STI within the
province. Thirty sites have been randomly selected to provide required data.
The reporting rate is 81%. The information gathered from January to September
2007 shows that:
* 46,9% of people who presented with STIs were women with vaginal
discharges
* 18,20% were men with urethral discharge syndrome
* 8,7% were women and men with genital ulcer syndrome
* the age group that is mostly affected is between 20 to 29 years of age.
This clearly shows that the bulk of women coming for STI management are
women which brings the question, "Where are men?" this means that men
structures are important in this regard.
In conclusion, proper management of STIs will lead to a reduction in the
prevalence of HIV. The youth is our primary target group and the key message to
them is education, delaying sexual intercourse debut and remembering that youth
is a flower to be cherished. I do not need to remind us all that the fight
against HIV and AIDS is a fight we aim to win. We as government cannot fight
all the battles alone. We need the partnerships of men and women in our
province, we need people to start taking aggressive responsibility for their
sexual health, we need our citizens to rally around protection and need our
youth to make wise choices. The fight against HIV and AIDS can only be won with
the support and collective approach by all partners and for us to make sure
that our future, our youth and our partners remain HIV negative.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Health, Free State Provincial Government
13 February 2007
