HIV Infections Rise As Condom Use Drops

Addressing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week, the National AIDS and Health Promotions Agency’s (NAHPA) acting coordinator, Robert Selato revealed that 33% of new infections are connected to the youth, who likely contracted the virus during the COVID-19-induced lockdown of 2020.

“We have established that condom use was very low during the lockdown period, something attributed to the rise in the HIV/AIDS new infections. It is evident that accessibility to condoms was minimal,” he said, adding that he observed in April and May 2020 that many young people engaged in unprotected sex.