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Samoa faces head on — Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Tackling HIV, STI and TB, in Samoa, United Nations Development Program Lizbeth Cullity, Ministry of Health’s Director General, Leausa Dr Take Naseri and Digicel Special Program Manager, Waikato Fatu launched the T3 campaign, Talk it, Test it, Treat it.  [Photo: JL]
joyetter@samoanews.com

Apia, SAMOA — “We have seen the danger of Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and the danger of Chlamydia” and it needs to be addressed head on, says Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Director General, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri.

During a press conference for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Digicel launched a new mass media campaign to address tuberculosis (TB), HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The campaign, which is being run across four countries in the Pacific — Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu — will run until the end of 2017, with the initial focus being on TB to coincide with World TB Day on 24 March.

Responding to media questions, Leausa explained the concerns for Chlamydia is that the symptoms do not show, compared to HIV, the symptoms are visible and “you know when you’re sick all the time.”

He explained that treating Chlamydia is simple with a single dosage on the daily basis that you and your partner consume. He said that most people were under the impression that TB has phased out, however recently they are seeing that it’s slowly and gradually reemerging.

“We need to get our act together and get it out of the way, we can solve TB and it’s a start with you, same as STI, these are quite prevalent and Samoa is in the top three islands in the Pacific excluding Papua New Guinea one of the highest rates of STI.”

He said that for now HIV is slowly phasing out, however they are not sure until the whole population is tested.

“We can say that we haven't seen any new HIV or Aids infection for the past three- four years, on saying that, we have a high rate of Chlamydia but we haven’t screened enough people to say with certainty that our HIV problem is under control. We still need to continue with the awareness and educate our people, and hopefully divert or even subdue this serious threat to the health of all Samoans.

“Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that's easily cured with antibiotic medicine. It's one of the most common STDs, and most people who have Chlamydia don't show any symptoms. See more at: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/chlamydia#sthash.SnKSijkd.dpuf

 

The purpose of this campaign is to make people be aware and encourage them to utilize the free service available at the hospital. All these diseases are treated for free and even the treatment for Chlamydia is free to the public,” he said.

According to Leausa, “In this modern age the best way to reach people is through their cell phones and I think we have more cell phones than the total population.” He further pointed out with this campaign their predictions are that most of those who are affected are in the productive age group and teenagers are the people to have access to cell phones. “We are targeting the university students, we are targeting the young mothers.”

At the press conference, Leausa stated that public health must be creative. “We know one of the best ways to reach people is through their cell phones.

It was also announced that it’s estimated that 110,000 people will be reached in Samoa through Digicel’s network, which now has 98.5% population coverage.

Text messages will be delivered to subscribers and direct them to a webpage with more information on prevention and where to go for testing, treatment, care and support services.

In order to market the campaign effectively, the messages are being delivered in both local and English languages.

In Samoa, a tailored slogan is being used: “T3: Talk It, Test It, Treat It”. This slogan refers to the need to: 1) Talk about these issues as a community and promote awareness; 2) Get tested for free at all National Health Service facilities to improve screening rates and surveillance; and 3) Get treated to reduce transmission and ensure a healthy life.

The national partners in Samoa are the Ministry of Health, the National Health Service STI/HIV/TB Clinic and the Samoa Family Health Association.