A national organization spearheading the fight against HIV/AIDS in Kenya has given in to pressure from Christians and other citizens to pull down an advert that many believed to be promoting immorality and degrading family values.
The advert’s slogan board says it was sponsored by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UKAid (the UK government’s department of international development), and Kenya’s ministry of public health and sanitation.
Religious leaders and other concerned citizens say that the advert, ‘Weka Condom Mpangoni’ (Include a Condom in your Planning), does not value the institution of marriage and that it propagates immorality.
Kenyans took the war to the social media, complete with a facebook page, ‘Kenyans Against the ‘weka Condom Mpangoni’ Campaign Advert’. “Fighting HIV/AIDS should not be justified by promoting infidelity”, they ventilated on their page.
“I am a mother, my son needs to learn to value women and not use them. As parents, God gave us a unique task. Raise them well,” says Joey Wangechi, who is against the airing of the advert.
The National AIDS and STDs Control Programme (NASCOP) has been forced to withdraw the advert, which has been running on national television for a while now. The advert shows two women talking about their families, with one saying she is tired of putting up with her alcoholic husband who does not satisfy her sexually. She says though that she is happy because she has a clandestine partner. Her friend advises her to always use condoms with her boyfriend.
Among those who hit out at the advert first was the Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop of Mombasa Diocese Rev. Julius Kalu.
“There are better ways of passing useful information to the society. It creates immorality, especially when members of families are gathered around television sets waiting to watch news,” he was reported to have said.
He said that the advertisement openly agitates for extra marital affairs and sex among school going children. “It better be removed from our national television stations,” he said.
Dr. Peter Cherutich of NASCOP, while responding to the allegations, says that Kenyans are shying away from the reality, adding that research shows that as married people grow older, it is inevitable that they have other sexual partners.
“In this advert we are just becoming realistic and addressing the problem as it is, we cannot bury our heads in the sand, and assume everybody is not having sex with their regular partner,”
In a television interview, Dr. Cherutich said that a survey had shown that between 20% and 30% of married couples had other sexual partners, yet a majority of them did not use condoms.
He says that NASCOP would like to partner with the church by them teaching their members to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS by being faithful to their partners and for those who are not able to be faithful, to use condoms while having sex.
Those who agree with Dr. Cherutich say that Aids prevalence is on the rise especially among married people, and thus there is need to encourage safe sex by use of condoms. Whereas the aim of the advert was to promote safe sex and protection for loved ones, some people say that the message they ought to send is for people to remain faithful and for others to abstain.
According to the UN, around 1.6 million people out of Kenya’s population of 41.6 million were living with HIV by 2011.
In an interview with the BBC Focus on Africa, Dr Cherutich said that while the advert had been withdrawn, he was unapologetic about its message – that it was essential for people to use condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.
“Condom Ad is real. Let’s not run away from the truth,” Joab Mokaya is quoted as saying in his support for the advert.
NASCOP believes that it is the responsibility of everyone to preach on the need for safe sex and use of condoms in particular. And that is why they would like to partner with churches.
The organization partners with US based organizations like USAID, CDC, Danya International and Jhpiego, among others.
After this uncharacteristic event, many questions will be asked.
Is this a coup for the religious and are we soon going to see more of this, especially from the church, remembering how they unsuccessfully fought to have the enactment of the 2010 constitution stopped?
Could it be that the strategy failed because its designers failed to consult widely, especially with those who are likely to have strong opinions about family values like the church leaders?
This should be a reason for them to think about involving people in all their processes as the constitution envisages.
Meanwhile, Prof Alloys Orago of National AIDS Control Council (NACC) says a meeting has been called to consider different views and come up with a common position on how to promote condom use as a means of preventing HIV infections.
For now, the religious organizations seem to have had their way. It is not known whether the status quo will hold forever.
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