Ebumnandzini advert is not the answer

The Ebumnandzini billboard advertisement at the Mbabane bus rank displays young men and women enjoying themselves at a party. No harm in that. Prominent in the foreground are a man and woman with smiles on their faces and their arms around each other. Not all bad. What is the meaning of the written messages of the advertisement?

"In the heat of the moment, PROTECTION is my best friend", and "Condoms—where the fun is at!"
So, it has come to this: Sex is no longer about love and committment; sex is only about fun; and the almighty condom, not the other person, is my best friend. The other person is just a tool for my pleasure, and as long as my good friend the condom protects me from HIV, life is good.

Firstly, a low rate of consistent condom use (never reported to be higher than five percent between regular partners in any African country) and an 80 percent to 90 percent effective protection against HIV transmission when they are used consistently and correctly (keep in mind the five percent figure above) means condoms cannot save Swaziland from AIDS.

As a 2003 report by UNAIDS itself concludes, "There is little evidence that sometimes (but not always) using condoms provides any protection as compared to not using condoms at all."

Secondly, by omitting any mention of marriage in connection to sex, this advertisement strikes at the root of Swazi society. The family is the foundation of any culture; if the family disintegrates, so does the society.

Cheapening sex—which is supposed to be the highest expression of love between a husband and a wife, and is the means by which a culture propagates itself through the birth of children—to simply a pleasurable act where the condom is the ‘significant other’ will bring individual and societal death. This is already happening; remember Swaziland has 100 000 OVCs. Have we forgotten what has made these children so?

Swazi men and women must be challenged to exercise discipline and integrity: To abstain from sex until marriage, and to be faithful to their spouses within marriage. Swazi youth can meet this challenge, if it is given to them. The A and B of the ABC message can reverse the AIDS situation, if it is proclaimed and practiced. Abstinence and faithfulness will also build stronger marriages and families, and thus a stronger Swazi nation.

If instead we suffer a continuing stream of Ebumnandzini-type campaigns, the number of night vigils will increase and we will bury an entire generation of Swazi young people. The call to abstinence and faithfulness must be made. Swazi youth are able to answer the call to discipline, life, and love.

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