As church leaders, they were aware that there would be no easy answer to the question. But while acknowledging the importance of condoms, they refused to put it at the centre of their message to the faithful. It is important to educate the youths about responsible use of condoms. According to the church leaders, condoms are a palliative and not a solution to the real problem. According to Marie, a nurse working with a humanitarian organisation in Djibouti, everyone has responsibility for their choice.
Condoms are the subject of discussion among couples.
Following exhaustive discussions, it was decided to allow women to use condoms to protect themselves if their husbands were fickle. According to the church leaders, faithfulness and abstinence from sex before marriage are the only effective means of controling AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. However, in Senegal, a very religious country, the promotion of condoms was instrumental in the prevention of the pandemic. Between 1988 and 1997, the distribution and sale of condoms rose from 800,000 to 7,010,000 units. In the general population, the rate was 62 percent, and 94 percent among prostitutes.