As the world celebrates Valentines Day on Friday, February 14, the public, especially the youth, has been urged to make use of condoms to avoid unwanted consequences, since new HIV infections are being recorded daily.

Data from the Ghana AIDS Commission indicates that about 50 people get infected with HIV in the country daily.

As of 2023 December, 334,095 people in Ghana were counted as living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo, the Programme Manager, National AIDS Control Programme, Ghana Health Service, said protecting oneself against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) was crucial.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on condom promotion, especially during Valentine’s Day, he advised that people who used condoms should do that correctly, consistently, and continuously to achieve the desired results.

Dr Ayisi Addo cautioned against using condoms for other purposes and that despite all the precautions, abstinence was the safest and urged the youth to, as much as possible, abstain from sex.

“So, for the youth out there, abstinence is key, and that is the safest way to save yourselves from sexually transmitted infections, from HIV in particular, from unwanted pregnancies and all the associated complications of fertility,” he said.

“We have introduced pre-exposure prophylaxis, which is used in medication. But to date, condoms are a physical barrier to infection.”

Condom use is one of the many interventions initiated by the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), which, to date, has proven to be a physical barrier to infection prevention.

“In the past we have had challenges with condom supply, but I’m happy to announce that this year we have a lot of condoms and as part of the promotion and activation programme, we have taken stock of over 20 million condoms,” he added.

He encouraged the youth to be given the needed support because their feelings were real, and they faced all kinds of challenges.

“But the frenzy around Valentine’s Day and the celebrations create an amiable environment for this. Creating an alternative such as promoting chocolates, among others, would still be pleasant and fulfilling, just like the Romans do,” he added.

The condom promotion and activation programme, which started in 2024, takes advantage of festivals and festive occasions to distribute condoms among the public as part of measures to reduce new HIV infections in the country.

Dr Ayisi Addo said his office, in collaboration with civil society groups and partners, this year, would be more deliberate to intensify the number of condoms distributed from five million to about 15 million.

“We are going to take advantage again of all events, including Valentine’s Day come Friday. Because this is an occasion where people rebel, there’s a lot of romantic activity and sex has to be definite,” he said.

“A lot of risky, unprotected sex opens the door to unwanted consequences. It is our responsibility to protect the community and Ghanaians from HIV to reduce the new infections.”

He called for as many partnerships as possible under the initiative to see a significant reduction in new infections and achieve epidemic control by 2030.