Condoms Use Among Resident Students at the University Abdou Moumouni Campus in Niamey/Niger

We studied condoms use to promote sexual and reproductive health and prevention of STIs/ HIV/AIDS among resident students at university campus in Niamey. Through a cross-type prospective study made by using a questionnaire responded to voluntarily by 450, well informed students, living on university campus was done over a period of six months. The findings are 72% of respondents were under 25 years and 97.11% were single. 51.1% of the sample was sexually active and the average age of first sexual intercourse was 19.04 years. The prevalence of condom use was 58% and out of these, 37.5% were consistent users. The reasons for condom use were to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies and STIs/HIV/AIDS in 62.85%, the protection from sexual diseases only in 20.95% and for contraception only in 16.19%. The main barriers to condom use were religion for 46.46%, the place of purchase for 23.77%, the social norms and values for 22.22% and the refusal of partner to 7.55%. The rate of HIV test was 58% and the rate of vaccination against hepatitis was 9.7%. The rate of good knowledge on contraception/STIs/ Condom/HIV/AIDS ranged from 60 to 90%. The study showed the importance of sex education for young people in schools and at home. There is need for a national drive to promote the sexual and reproductive health especially in youths, by providing an easy access to and proper use of reproductive and sexual health services. Also, the undisputed place of awareness and innovation in the prevention of STI/HIV/AIDS is by integrating the religious, socio-economic and cultural life dimensions as they are a key to a quick and efficient route to overcome the STIs/AIDS in the world. In the absence of vaccine and a final cure to AIDS, prevention is presented as the best alternative to fight against AIDS. Thus prevention would be more effective and useful in poor countries where technical platforms to support patients living with HIV and AIDS (PHAs) are rare or absent in both clinically and through laboratory tests for routine diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring and follow up. Indeed, the onset of AIDS has been accompanied by a resurgence of diseases that were disappearing including some STIs (such as syphilis, gonorrhea) [7], tuberculosis and also the outbreak of diseases such as viral hepatitis and cancers that are hitherto unknown to the general public. The importance of condom use through a campaign of mass awareness and social marketing especially to youths remain the primary level of prevention in poor countries like ours. Condom use promotion can be done through a consistent supply and distribution of both male and female condoms the allocation of adequate financial and human resources to ensure the availability and access to good quality condomsthe promotion of correct and consistent condom use according to standards and culturally acceptable methods [8]. Thus, our study is to assess the conditions of condom use among students in the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and STIs/HIV/AIDS to promote voluntary testing and making sure proper care and good patient’s life time.