Did you know that according to the The National Aids Control Council (NACC) statistics show that adolescents and young people aged 29 years and below account for over 61 per cent of all new HIV infections in the country? That in 2021, on average, at least 98 new HIV infections occurred every week among adolescents aged 10-19 years, and that about 5,288 AIDS deaths occur among children and young people? I thought you should know as you go about your life hopping from one partner to another based on trust as if you have a pimometer in your eyes to test people at face value. While the statistics for new HIV infections among the youth are damning, those of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) including chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis have also shown an increase.
While I understand that “relationship hapa Kenya ni kama baraka za mungu: kuna za ajabu, za juu na chini, lakini mingi ni za upande upande kwa mataifa yote”, what baffles is me is why hamjipendi kwa hizi relationships. Kwani protection ni kitu ngumu sana ya kutumia? Ama ni pesa ndio shida, but the government provides free condoms at almost all the public facilities so lack of funds cannot be an excuse.
Relationships are supposed to be based on trust but many at times trust is really breached in these same relationships, in other words with the way things are you can only trust yourself.
Pressure ya keeping up with the Joneses pia inawafanya mnarun up your body count and engaging in risky sexual behaviour trying to impress people who will not even come to see you in hospital in case ulazwe. Did you also know that gonorrhea and syphilis are asymptomatic in less than 10% of men against 50%-80% of women? What this means is that there is an inordinate number of infected men and women galivanting hapa na kule with no idea that they are infected because they are not showing any symptoms. These same people are not seeking treatment through no fault of their own and as Bensoul sang “yule anakupea, pia ananipea, akikuletea, ananiletea..., ogopa sana”.
Relationships are supposed to be based on trust but many at times trust is really breached in these same relationships, in other words with the way things are you can only trust yourself. If you choose to trust your partner, trust but verify. Occasional check-ups for STIs and HIV should be normalized in relationships so that incase of any slip up on either end, treatment can begin early and avert many problems down the road. Most STIs are treatable with medication and HIV is no longer a death sentence so long as one adheres to the antiretroviral therapy as stipulated. All this to say, please stay safe out there, you are personally liable to keep yourself safe, not your partner, but you, yes wewe that are reading this can only trust yourself because again you never really know people.