False attributes on virility slowing down HIV message

Ho, Jan 12, GNA - False attributes of virility among young men as a result of which some of them are reluctant to use condoms as protection during sex could slow the fight against the spread of the pandemic.

Mr Yentumi Asare, Programme Officer on HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Headquarters of the National Service Secretariat said this on Thursday at a sensitisation workshop for District Service Coordinators from the Volta and Greater-Accra Regions in Ho.

He said some young men were refusing condoms because it prevented them from ejaculating twice in one round of sex, which is referred to as "two in one".

Mr Asare, therefore, called on the Coordinators to adopt all the tried and tested measures to get National Service Personnel, who were mostly young people between the ages of 18 and 40, to avoid contracting the HIV/AIDS virus.

He said, if the message got down well with National Service Personnel, "it would trickle down to the youth the personnel would be dealing with in the various communities". Mr Asare said issues about sex and sexuality should be told as it is, so as to get the message across faster on what to doe and what not to do to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) is sponsoring the workshop, which would be replicated in other regions.

Mr Kenwuud Nuworsu, Board Member of the National Service said the issue of HIV/AIDS had inevitably become part of Human Resource Management and crucial for the survival of many organizations. He said National Service Personnel were particularly vulnerable to the disease because many of the personnel, who worked away from their parents and guardians for the first time, were likely to take risks. Mr Ken Gyenfi, Volta Regional Coordinator of the Service said the use of condoms should be demystified alongside the preaching of abstinence and faithfulness. 12 Jan 06