Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - October 28, 2007
Claire Keeton

Don't stop using condoms to protect yourself against HIV/Aids, says Dave Nowitz, senior marketing manager for the Society for Family Health, amid the uproar this week about faulty condoms.

The Society for Family Health sells about three million Lover's Plus and Trust condoms through supermarkets and distributes between five to eight million more for the Department of Health every month.

"The tests on condoms are a thousand times more stringent than the strain during intercourse. If the condoms do not comply, that means there is a slightly higher risk of failing. It does not mean they are 100% dangerous," says Nowitz.

He says their Lover's Plus condoms are tested to World Health Organisation standards by overseas laboratories as their manufacturers are mostly in Malaysia - and that South African testing standards are also very strict.

Nowitz, who is the latest volunteer for the Each One Reach Five campaign, promotes testing as an important tool in fighting HIV/Aids.

Nowitz felt powerless when his family lost a gardener to Aids about eight years ago - long before treatment was available in the public sector. " Joseph, a friend and the gardener of my wife's family for many years, got sick. It's one thing to see people in hospital beds. It's another thing when the person in the bed is someone you know ... It was a very humbling and frightening experience."

At that time, antiretrovirals were expensive and difficult to get.

"In the last year of Joseph's life, he lost weight, became very ill and was moved to a hospice, where my wife and mother-in-law were nursing him.

"He never ever consented to being tested for HIV, up to his last breath - even though he had all the symptoms," says Nowitz.

The Society for Family Health focuses on HIV prevention. "We have steep upward graphs showing how a greater volume of condoms is being distributed, greater numbers are testing for HIV and there is a behavioural change," he says.

"Research shows, to this day, how effective condom usage is for birth control," says Nowitz.

The society launched, and manages, a leading voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) organisation, known as New Start.

Nowitz decided to do his HIV test at New Start's mobile testing station at Park Station in downtown Johannesburg. Five New Start tents are situated at the south end of the concourse, with staff ready to counsel and test members of the public. On Tuesday afternoon there were schoolgirls in uniform and commuters waiting to be tested, after Nowitz and I had done our tests.

The counsellors are supportive, explaining the best ways to live a healthy life whether your results are negative or positive. They ask detailed questions about your personal life but explain you are under no obligation to answer these. The tests can be done under your own name, or not, if you prefer anonymity.

When the counselling is over, each person must go to the nurse for the finger-prick blood test. After about 15 minutes, the counsellors call in people to get their results.

An incentive to test this month is the chance of winning a free ticket to Levi's "Rage for the Revolution" concert next weekend.

New Start is working with Levi's to promote HIV testing on its "Rage for the Revolution" campaign.

Another supportive partner is DJ Fresh, who allowed his voice and music track to be used in a Lover's Plus condom TV advert.

"People expect condoms to be used out on the town. But in this ad the couple are in a relationship. It's an attempt to normalise condom use among couples," says Nowitz.

He has been with his wife for half his life (21 years). They have been married for 13 years and have two sons.

Nowitz says: "I know I can make a difference and every person, in their own way, can make a difference to stopping HIV."

Nowitz's five volunteers are: Aids Consortium director Denise Hunt; Society for Family Health brand manager Janine Barnes and

VCT programme manager Miriam Mzo; New Start VCT technical adviser Scott Billy; and Levi Strauss marketing director Debbie Gebhardt.

HOW TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN:

Take an HIV test and get five other people to do the same. Make it clear that nobody has to disclose their results.

Let us know why you decided to join the campaign and how you felt when you took the test. We would welcome any stories about the experiences you have while participating in the campaign. Send your stories, with pictures if possible, to: reach5@sundaytimes.co.za

Send us your name and the names of your five nominees so that we can publish a list of South Africans who have taken part. Please note, we do not want to know the results of anyone's test.

You can get tested by your doctor or at a local clinic. For a list of clinics go to www.thetimes.co.za/TheVault/Documents /vctsites.xls

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