It all started after Dorika’s late 40-year-old husband, Williams contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) from sex outside marriage after a drinking spree.

And when he went for an STD testing and treatment he was also diagnosed HIV positive!

This was not surprising at all since health authorities in Malawi even revealed that over half of men being diagnosed with STDs also tested HIV positive.

Then Williams infected his wife with the virus since despite being aware that he was carrying HIV was having plain sex with her.

Yet if the couple had switched to safe sex through using condoms the woman would have not contracted and died of the virus and the husband would have put his viral load under control in the body!

The World Health Organization (WHO) study reveals that condom use during sex has a preventive measure against the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The organization discloses that in its study in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, HIV prevention campaigns aimed at sex workers for example were strengthened during the 1990s, including peer support and condom promotion.

“This resulted in a reduction in HIV incidence amongst sex workers in the city, from 25 to 50 percent to 4 percent by the end of the decade,” says the organization.

Beneficiaries of the Nairobi WHO condom promotion included the sex workers' married clients and their wives.

The WHO Nairobi study on the impact of condom use in HIV and AIDS fight deliberately targeted sex workers bearing in mind that in many parts of the world, prostitutes have been among the groups most vulnerable to and most affected by HIV since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic in 1981.

In another study Robert Gadner and Richard Blackburn from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Centre for Communication Programs in the United States also claim that although some cultures and religions have negative attitudes on condom use the sheaths have the potential of preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS.

“Consistent condom use by nonmonogamous sex partners could protect millions of people from HIV infection and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and reduce the enormous costs associated with STDs,” they said however, disclosing that condom use is still low globally.

The researchers revealed that condom use needs to increase to about 15 billion per year from 8 to10 billion per year to prevent STDs on the planet.

“An estimated 33 million people live with HIV/AIDS worldwide, and an estimated 16,000 people are infected with the virus each day. Condom use remains low within marriages approximately 7 percent,” they said.

They further explained that many unmarried, sexually active people continue to practice risky sex behaviour-even when they know about STDs and condoms-because of mistaken beliefs that they are not at risk and or because social norms discourage condom use and encourage high-risk male sex behaviour.

“Traditional gender roles and fear of violent reactions inhibit women from talking about sex with their partners or negotiating condom use,” they said.

The researchers said promotion, advocacy, communication campaigns, and counselling could change social norms and inform people about risks.

“Governments must help close the condom gap by adopting policies that make condoms widely available and universally accepted. Donors must also provide adequate funds and technical assistance to meet this challenge,” they said.

The former Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association (MIAA) Board Chairperson Thomas Msusa said his organization, with assistance from the National AIDS Commission (NAC) came up with a plan on Mutual Faithfulness to run from 2008 -2012 after noting high HIV and AIDS infections among married couples in religious quarters.

“It’s with deep regret that we have noted that since the HIV and AIDS epidemic was noted in Malawi many years ago, HIV continues to spread at an alarming rate,” he said adding, “Some of those who contracted the virus are married Christians and Moslems.”

The former chairperson of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) in Malawi, Archbishop Bernard Malango, on his part said HIV and AIDS infections were still taking place in Malawi because people do not use condoms consistently to protect themselves from getting infected with the virus.

Malawian religious leaders have for quiet along time been against condom promotion and instead, advocated for faithfulness in relationships and abstinence for the unmarried saying promoting use of the sheaths would encourage promiscuity.

“Although the proportion of people using male and female condoms has risen over the past few years, the uptake is still low,” said Malango who retired from his position after serving as head of the Diocese of Central Africa of the Anglican Church from 2000 to September 2007.

He therefore, explained that Malawi has a challenge of low and inconsistent condom use as one of the key factors driving the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Malango further said a related challenge is that attitudes towards condom use have generally been negative among high risk groups and in long stable relationships and the general population.

“Worse still, there are myths and misconceptions about condoms especially at community level. Condoms are sometimes associated with promiscuity, commercial sex and distrust of one’s partner. There are also some people who believe that condoms reduce sexual pleasure,” he said.

The Bishop therefore added: “We need to think of ways to make people value their lives in such a way that they will see the need to use condoms consistently.”

According to NAC statistics condom use is still low in Malawi revealing that for instance, of the 20 million (500,000 female and 19.5 million male socially marketed condoms distributed) between 2007 and 2008 its annual achievement was just slightly over half (10,481,901 male (71,676 female) condoms.

The WHO Resident Representative in Malawi Felistas Zawaira said there was a need for more efforts to advocate for safe sex to prevent the spread of HIV in the country.

She disclosed that even people in stable relationships including marriages were becoming agents of fuelling more HIV infections as compared to some groups that were perceived as key players in the spreading of the virus in Malawi.

“Contrary to common belief we have learnt that it’s not core groups such as commercial sex workers and other most at risk groups that contribute the most to our pool of new infections,” explained Zawaira.

She added: “The most important sources of new infections (drivers) in our setting are multiple and concurrent partnerships and discordance in stable single relationships.”

In a study by Mina Mauerstein Bail, a Manager for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, United States revelations are that men’s behaviour of expressing their reluctance to practice safe sex for instance using condoms in countries such as Malawi and regions such as sub-Saharan Africa are behind high rates of HIV and AIDS infections in women.

“Estimates suggested that between 60 to 80 percent of women who got infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa had only one sexual partner,” she said.

In many documents of the world according to Bail’s research it was also suggested that men have a greater lifetime number of sexual partners and that there were clear double standards regarding the behaviour of men and women.

“For example while in many cultures women were expected to preserve their virginity until marriage it was revealed that young men were encouraged to gain sexual experience,” said Bail adding that male sexuality was also often thought of by both men and women as unrestrained.

“... and in some parts of the global society having a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) was considered a badge of honour confirming manhood,” she said.