“Sex toys can be a form of HIV transmission and it is time parents take action to contain the situation. These toys are sold in some pharmacies in Gaborone and are used mostly during group sex at parties by young girls”.
Some of the toys use electricity or are battery operated for maximum performance. Chipfakacha said the mind-set of society should drastically change with prevailing situations and that concerted strides should be instituted to address the spread of HIV/AIDS at both household and national levels.
He attributed poverty and squalor as some of the factors contributing to the spread of the HIV/AIDS scourge and urged stakeholders to formulate strategies to reverse the situation.
“We need a holistic approach to address the problems affecting our society. Poverty has become a contributing factor to the spread of HIV, forcing people to engage in risky behaviour, particularly women. We need to reduce poverty at all levels of any society”.
He warned about the possibility of contracting HIV from the dead. He stated that even after 14 days of death, a corpse still contains fluids that could carry a virus if the dead person was HIV positive.
Chipfakacha advised relatives of the deceased to use gloves during the entire process of preparing corpses for burial. He pointed out that those who perform rituals that involve contact with the dead person like washing and dressing risk contracting HIV. “We should encourage mourners to use gloves whenever they are washing the body before burial because the corpse still contains fluids after 14 days after death. The dead body oozes with fluids and these fluids may contain a virus that can still survive although not all fluids have the capacity to transmit the virus. You need a certain quantity of fluid to allow transmission of the virus.”
