In Cape Coast, during the Fetu Afahye time, 21,552 male condoms were given away for free by the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG).
By all accounts, the Fetu Afahye 2024 was a success. with thousands of visitors swarming Cape Coast for the celebration. The city had a huge funfair and there was a lot of socializing.
Thousands of people, both young and elderly, were crammed into the city as new amusement spots sprung up.
It was expected that many would engage in casual sexual behavior because there was a lot of food and drink available.
Therefore, in cooperation with the Cape Coast Youth Action Movement (YAM) branch and other important stakeholders, the PPAG Cape Coast Clinic organized a number of activities both before and during the festival to help keep people “safe” in an effort to prevent STIs, including HIV, unintended pregnancies, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during the Cape Coast Festival.
In addition, 722 individuals underwent HIV screening; two of them had positive results.
Additionally, 622 individuals were examined for Hepatitis B, and 5 positive cases were found.
Activities leading up to the event
The team worked with 13 Cape Coast communities—Idan, Ekon, Nkanfoa, Kwapraw, Akotokyir, Abura, Pedu, Brabedzie, Amamoma, Kakumdo, Akanful Fie, and Nyinasin—to perform educational outreach in the weeks preceding the festival.
These sessions covered community center instruction, small group discussions, and one-on-one counseling.
Michael Tagoe, a program officer with the PPAG in Cape Coast, stated that the goals were to increase public knowledge of safe sex practices, STI prevention—including HIV prevention—and SGBV prevention.
He claimed that the team successfully reached over 600 people during these pre-festival events, comprising 486 youths between the ages of 10 and 24 and 146 adults over 25.
According to him, the main objective was to provide participants with correct information and access to resources so they could make well-informed decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health.
According to Mr. Tagoe, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) and the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) provided support for the PPAG Cape Coast Clinic staff and committed volunteers to set up a four-day service stand at the Central Region Expo 2024, which was hosted at the Adisadel Park.
Services provided
He said that family planning (FP) counseling, HIV testing, Hepatitis B screening, and service providing were among the offerings at the stand.
He claimed that the program was successful because of the volunteers’ efforts, which were crucial in drawing customers to the stand.
He claimed that the crew traveled to the Abura market on Friday morning, Carnival Day, working once more with GAC and CCMA to carry out additional teaching, HIV testing, and condom distribution. He claimed that by reaching out to a new audience, the program’s influence was expanded and a wider audience was served by the message and services.
He claimed that as part of the celebration, the volunteers distributed condom packets at the lively “Orange Friday” street festival.
Although they couldn’t stop people from having fun, Mr. Tagoe said they could assist them in taking the appropriate safety measures.
It’s a pattern that we have seen. Many would show up in a few weeks with pregnancies and claim weird names to be the cause of them,” he said.
He expressed hope that some STDs and unintended pregnancies will be avoided by the events that were organized.
During this time, the Department of Gender also provided condoms and organized teaching programs for teenagers on safe sexual behavior and sexual and reproductive health.
Since the festival ended, the city has reverted to its original serene state.
It is the hope of health professionals that the number of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases has been contained.
You might have a “afahye baby” waiting for you the next time you visit if you came for afahye and you weren’t attentive and vigilant.