VALENTINE’S: NACA warns against HIV, STDs

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By Lawrence Etim.

VAL3The National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, has called for caution against activities that could heighten the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases, STD s.

Director General of the Agency, Professor John Idoko, made the call today as Nigerians join the rest of the world to mark Valentine’s Day season of love activities. He maintained that Valentine Day is a period where gratitude of love is demonstrated between individuals through gestures of affection such as flowers, perfumes, cloths among other gift items.

However he cautioned that “Valentine Day, good as it may be, has brought up a worrisome aspect festering this celebration of love season. This is the high rate of indiscriminate sexual and other negative activities which are perpetrated on this day leading to uninformed decision making among adolescents.

NACA, he said is committed to actualize a generation free from HIV/AIDS, and in so doing it is advising that at Nigerians  make informed decisions about their sexual engagements in order to halt the spread of the virus.Nigerians need to be principled and to abstain, or indulge only in protected sex at this period of love sharing.

Idoko is of the opinion that the consumption of alcohol is catalytic to the  spread of HIV/AIDS among sexual active partners. Stating that “Either good or bad, alcohol intake does influence an individual’s judgments and perceptions. It is widely observed that drinking alcohol leads to increased risky sexual behavior, like not using protection to prevent HIV/AIDS, or having sex that you will regret you had.

“As we celebrate love at this period of Valentine Day, it is good to note that safe sex is not just about protecting oneself, but however protecting those we love.

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