- The Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) has jostled
non-governmental organisations in the country, more especially those
that tackle issues of HIV/AIDS awareness to provide special programmes
for commercial sex workers.
Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) programmes coordinator, Mathias Chatuluka said in an interview recently that NGO’s should avoid sidelining the commercial sex workers on issues of HIVA/AIDS because, he said, they are part of the society.
He said people should not take commercial sex workers as the lost group in the society.
“Most of non-governmental organisations have no interest to introduce new programmes that would assist commercials sex workers to have access to information in different issues, including issues of HIV/AIDS.
“Commercial sex workers are part of the society. It’s high time we included them in our activities so that they should be well informed on issues of HIV/AIDS and protect them selves when they are having sex,” he said.
He said it would be proper for NGOs to provide information on HIV/AIDS to the commercial sex workers in the country as a way of reducing the spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.
“The major problem is that most of nasty things like unprotected sex always occur in some drinking joints. It is therefore good to sensitise commercial sex workers on HIV/AIDS issues because most of the prostitutes are also found in this drinking joints.
“If these commercial sex workers are well equipped on the dangers of unprotected sex, they will be able to tell their clients to use condoms whenever they are having sex. In so doing, we can reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and serve lives of many people,” he said.
He said his organisation has already started a programme that is only targeting commercial sex workers.
He said his organisation has so far trained DJs from different night entertainment centres in Lilongwe to take part in disseminating information on HIV/AIDS awareness.
“We have trained DJs from Chez Ntemba, casino and many others; more especially famous pubs that always attract more people, on how they can disseminate HIV/AIDS information through music.
“We also gave the DJs HIV/AIDS jingles so that whenever they are playing the music, they should remember to play the jingles and we have been also distributing condoms to prostitutes during our disco shows and the response has been good,” he said.
Family planning association of Malawi is a non-profitable organisation which receives its funding from International Planned Parental hood Association (IPPF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
One of its main objectives of the organisation is to provide sexual and reproductive health information to young people and treating sexually transmitted infections, (STI’S).
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