Condom availability

is a Pacific myth

Regional initiatives to combat the spread of

Hi V/Aids And Std’S

are facing up to the prob lem of limited access for many Pacific Islanders to a regular supply of con doms, There has been heated discussion on what health and advocacy workers should be doing to tackle the issue of following through on sex education with access to safe-sex through condoms - many delegates in a session on regional initiatives at the recent First Pacific Regional Conference on HIV/AIDS and STDs have admitted that talking about condom use is not enough.

“Condom availability is a myth in reali ty,” says one participant of the gap between safe sex education and easy access, “it’s a waste of time to promote something when it’s not available”.

A Vanuatu delegate says she takes the message of safe sex to isolated villages, but can’t follow through by distributing con doms. Problems with ensuring a regular supply to users also ensued.

AIDS Task Force of Fiji (ATFF) worker Jane Tyler says the reality for many rural villages in the islands is that condoms are simply not available. “We don’t have the answers. It’s a huge dilemma,” she says, “There’s been a breakthrough in attitudes and things are beginning to change, but it needs a bit of a push”.

The role of senior decision makers in Pacific Islands governments in terms of promoting safe sex education has also been raised, with delegates trying to put the fin ger on specific issues which hinder condom use. “We must reach young people before they are sexually active,” says UNAIDS Pacific Advisor Steven Vete.

He says it’s a “waste of time” trying to reach older decision makers and officials who might be too set in their ways and more effort should be spent on reaching future decision makers. ■