The Director of National AIDS Secretariat (NAS), Dr. Brima Kargbo has said in the capital Freetown few weeks ago that the conventional methods of HIV/AIDS prevention, normally referred to as the ABC method can sometimes be unreliable, especially among youths who are more vulnerable to the risk of HIV/AIDS infection in the country

In an exclusive interview with our Sierra Leone correspondent, Dr Kargbo said a thorough abstinence method of HIV/AIDS prevention must be expanded so that the method will include many other human situations other than abstaining from sex alone, which is just one form of abstinence.

He spoke on the reliability of the ABC method and warned all the youths in the country to examine each mode of transmission and be fully aware of its potential and pitfalls.

Explaining the meaning of the letter A, which stands Abstinence, the Director said ”the problem with the abstinence as a means of HIV/AIDS prevention is found in the fact that many people are not willing to abstain from sex even at the risk of acquiring the disease”.

“This is more so in the case of young men and women who are more energetic and more prone to experimentation than adult population who are somehow settled in their sex habits and are often very self regulation in their behaviors”, the Director said.

“The youths on the other hand especially the adolescents often get excited about sex and throw caution overboard, taking risk in sexual behavior that are detrimental to their health and are unhelpful in the prevention of HIV/AIDS”, he added.

He called attention to what he referred to as the effects of drunkenness among youths, which tends to put so much pressure on youths, that they abandoned caution take the path of which of risk without noticing the dangerous zone they are entering.

The issue of alcohol as a sexual stimulant especially among youths, is one reason why many people seem to think that alcohol or drunkenness among youths constituting the gravest danger standing between youths and their health.

Many Sierra Leoneans Africa News spoke with believed that when youths engage in intensive and extensive drinking of alcohol they often lose their sense of responsibility and engage in risky sexual behavior patterns that lands them into trouble.

It has been observed that young people, who even when they are determined to prevent AIDS through abstinence from sex, often fall prey to the disease and increase their chances of acquiring HIV/AIDS if they imbibe the culture of serious drinking, because of the sense of irresponsibility it engenders.

The Director advised parents, teachers, relatives, friends and peers who are interested in the health of teenagers and youths to avoid the use of alcohols and other forms of drugs which tend to lower the sense of responsibility of resistance to youth.

He urged them in acts of experimentation that are devoid of caution or common sense, leading directly to unsafe sex practices or other less suspected risky behaviors.

According to a survey conducted recently in the capital Freetown, some of the youths think that abstinence only means not taking part in sex, thereby leading to apathy and experimentation with other forms of fun making or risky behavior.

The Director who is also AIDS specialist explained further that “It is good to expand the theory of abstinence to cover many other situations, to help the youth know that abstinence from sex must be complimented with abstinence from deep kissing, especially when one of the partners has sores in their mouths or bleeding guns”.

“If a youth wants to avoid acquiring HIV/AIDS he must remember that he is still at risk even if he avoids sex but indulges in deep kissing, especially if the partners they kiss have HIV/AIDS plus sores in the mouth, or bleeding gums”, he explained.

Medical Experts believed that many enterprising youth who have steered clear off sex, unfortunately expose themselves to risk by deep kissing, leading to the exchange of harmful or contaminated body fluids such as blood.

Dr Kargbo went further to advised youths that if they avoid sex in order to protect themselves from AIDS they must also avoid deep kissing because in deep kissing the possibility exist for HIV/AIDS transmission to take place through blood oozing from bleeding gums or sores inside the mouth.

He also warned the youths to abstain from sexual intercourse to prevent HIV/AIDS infection stating that if deep kissing takes place, especially when one of the partners is HIV/AIDS positive and has sores in the mouth or bleeding gums that person will be affected.

The Director explained about a sad story of a youth who has done all in his power to abstain from sex but finally acquires the disease from deep kissing which he said is too disheartening and frustrating to contemplate.

“It is like trying to swim with one’s hand tied. It is wise to remember that abstinence means more than just refraining from sex because sex is not the only means to acquire the HIV/AIDS”, he opined.

Abstinence, he said, must include abstinence from all risky behavior therefore abstinence cannot be complete simply because one refuses or denies him/herself the pleasure of sex.

He further disclosed that with all the abstinence, babies do acquire HIV/AIDS, proof that abstinence from sex means such more than refraining from sex.

“We all know that babies don’t have sex, but they still acquire HIV/AIDS. The question is how?” he queries.

Abstinence means not having sex at all, and not engaging in deep kissing at all except when one is sure that blood will not pass from one partner to the other.

It may also mean that even if one wants to help an accident victim, abstinence from sex will not help him if he allows a wounded part of his body to come in contact with the blood of the person he wants to help.

From this we can see that abstinence means so many things and it should force parents, teachers, guardians and peers to identify all the risky areas in the acquisition of HIV/AIDS and apply the Abstinence theory thoroughly and correctly, otherwise abstinence from sex would be a waste of time if the disease is acquired in some other subtle way.

Dr. Brima Kargbo concluded that the A is Abstinence means abstinence in all risky behaviors and not sex alone.