MANY persons believe that the’ withdrawal’ contraceptive method also guards against the transmission of HIV/AIDS. That’s a myth.

“Some men believe that it can actually work. They have sex with the girls and they pull out right before they ejaculate and so she is alright. But that is not so,” explained Ainsley Reid, who has been living with HIV for more than a decade.

“And these are the things that we need more public education about. This is the kind of education that needs to take place,” continued Reid, reflecting on the broad-scale HIV awareness that he thinks the country needs. Reid was the male figure of the mass media/outdoor advertising campaign “Getting on With Life”.

In a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer, Reid highlighted the many medical complications HIV-infected persons endure daily, adding that an inability to find employment was adding to the woes of Jamaicans living with the life-changing disease.

He said that while HIV patients are finding it easier to access medication, sometimes they can’t afford the requisite nutrition needed for taking the medication. And that only adds to the problem, he said.

In the meantime, Audi Brevett from the National Family Planning Board emphasised the need to curb the high prevalence of teenage girls contracting the disease. They are one of the major target groups for this year’s World Aids Day on Sunday. This year’s local theme is ‘A nation for zero discrimination’, said Brevett.