Impact of Condom Wallet on Sexual Behavior of Police Officers in Ghana.

Asiamah G; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).
Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. ThPeC7467.

Ghana Police, Accra, Ghana

Issues: In 1999, condom use among Police Officers in Ghana was low. Only 50% of officers who had casual sex used condoms. Description: Armed with this information, an intervention to promote and distribute condoms in the police was started. This included a novelty - Condom Wallet. A Police officer on operational duty is provided with a Condom Wallet filled with condoms. The Wallet is worn on his belt as part of his official uniform, and he is given instructions on how condoms are used, and replacement of used condoms. The Condom Wallet is not intended to promote promiscuity, but to serve as a life jacket against HIV, ready to be used in the event of one 'falling in to water' by accident, as most casual sexual encounters tend to be. The slogan is: 'Condom Wallet, your Life Jacket'! Lessons learnt: Surveys conducted in the year 2000, showed significant increase in condom use as 65% of police officers who had casual sex used condoms. The rate of condom use continued to increase every year, and in 2003, surveys showed that all police officers (100%) who had casual sex used condoms. Again, barriers to condoms are broken as condoms have become more easily available, and both police officers and their spouses discuss condoms freely. The condom wallet has generated a lot of interest and fun on condoms among police officers, which has led to very significant increase in condom use in the police. What is even more interesting is that police wives do not have problems with policemen carrying condoms to operational duties. Recommendation: The simple Condom Wallet technology, has led to a universal condom use by police officers in casual sex. All barriers to condoms among police officers in Ghana have been broken. It is against this background that, the Condom Wallet is highly recommended for use by other Uniformed Personnel on operational duties.