Cape Town – The City of Cape Town’s clinics have noted that condom use among both men and women in the 2019/2020 financial year had decreased when compared to the previous year.
The City revealed this while voicing that February is Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI)/Condom Month, in which women and men have been encouraged to have health checks.
This year’s theme is “We’re in this together, Cheka Impilo”.
“Cheka Impilo is a national health campaign which loosely translated means to have a health check. The campaign challenges each one of us to be aware of our health and to be responsible for our own health choices,” said Mayco Member for Community Services and Health, Zahid Badroodien.
Figures from City Health have shown condom use among both men and women has decreased when comparing the 2018/2019 financial year to the 2019/2020 financial year.
The use of male condoms dropped from 43.4 million to 30.6 million and the use of female condoms dropped from 959 121 to 954 599. The City said it could be attributed to people staying at home as per the health directive and fewer visits to clinics during the festive season.
“Practising safe sex is a priority if you’re sexually active. While our circumstances don’t allow us to move around as we would like, I want to encourage people to continue their clinic visits within the health protocols where condoms are provided free of charge,” Badroodien said.
The City of Cape Town’s clinics have also noted a 250% increase in the number of women who visited for a cervical smear from June to November 2020.
“The number of women who visited a clinic for a cervical smear jumped from 690 in June to 2 424 in November last year. This is indicative of the fact that many women are managing their own health and are making use of the options available to them.
“However, men also need to start taking ownership of their sexual and reproductive well-being,” Badroodien said.
Sexually transmitted infections remain a big problem, the City said. It added that most of these infections can be cured, but stigma and the reluctance to talk about sex and related issues openly, hinder people from seeking treatment in time.
“You can get an STI even if you have sex only once with an infected partner. Untreated STIs can cause infertility, cancer of the sex organs, affect an unborn baby, cause mental illness or damage to the heart and kidneys. It is also important to know your HIV status and testing is available at all clinics. The sooner you are diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin,” said Badroodien.
“In addition, the number of recorded STIs is not always a true reflection of the situation. Women may show no symptoms for some time and therefore not know they have an STI. Sexual and reproductive health care should be a part of our regular healthcare routine.
“Any illness has an impact on our physical, mental and emotional well-being, so it’s important to ensure the health of the whole body,” said Badroodien.
City clinics provide services and medication free of charge and many facilities have dedicated time slots for youth-related health services, which is usually in the afternoons after school.
Cape Argus