Doctors call for sexual health policy as STI cases soar
David Darmanin The Medical Association of Malta’s Dr Martin Balzan has once again called on government to publish its long-overdue sexual health policy, after statistics revealed in parliament suggest a increase in persons seeking treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STIs).
Health Minister Joe Cassar on Monday shed light on a registered increase in reported cases of STIs in 2009 – specifically HIV (12 cases), Chlamydia (61 cases), gonorrhea (63 cases) and syphilis (19 cases).
The improved awareness on STIs is likely to inflate statistics because of a greater demand for medical check-ups. But statistics aside, STIs are truly on the increase, says Health Promotion Director Charmaine Gauci.
“We have enhanced our surveillance to increase awareness, so it would follow that more people go to make tests for such diseases,” Dr Gauci told MaltaToday. “But I am not saying that the increase in STIs in Malta is not real, as we have noticed a growing trend.”
With better surveillance and fresh data that better represents the true scenario, Gauci said that “we can better quantify how big the problem is and where it’s mainly coming from.” Gauci said this is an important tool for the department to know what to stress on most in its future campaigns.
The Health Promotion Department recently launched a sexual health campaign promoting contraceptives, even though the allegory of a girl using a helmet before riding a bicycle, faced criticism for not being explicit enough.
“As regards information and awareness, we feel the campaign has helped,” Gauci said, adding that campaigns need to be more inclined to promote behavioural change. “In order to curb the incidence of STIs, we promote four primary areas: abstinence, faithfulness, using condoms and saying no to drugs. We know that abstinence is not considered by a section of the population, so what we said in that campaign was that if you are not willing to abstain, protect yourself.”
Asked whether she would consider being more direct next time, Gauci insisted that she did not have pressure to omit the word ‘condom’ in her campaign.
“The theme of the event and the helmet idea were created by youths themselves,” she said. “I think it was very understandable as I still have to meet youths who do not know what a condom is. I think youths could well relate to the message in that campaign.”
A budget of €42,000 is currently allocated for educational campaigns aimed at creating awareness on STIs. Part of the fund is EU-financed, forming part of a project called H-cube aimed at educating on Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. “When you create awareness on HIV, you would also be covering other STIs,” Gauci said.
MAM’s secretary-general Martin Balzan agrees with Gauci on STI incidence being on the increase.
“From feedback I got on a recent dermatology conference, yes, it seems that the increase in STIs is truly on the increase – and not just in the cases reported,” he said. “I will not go into the merits of whether or not awareness campaigns are effective, but as an association, we strongly feel that government should publish the long-awaited sexual health policy.”
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