The Health Department yesterday held a news conference in which it was announced that in 2009, Malta registered one new AIDS case and 11 new HIV cases.

The Department wants the message to get across very clearly and it’s as easy as A,B,C... and D. A means abstinence, B means be faithful, C means use a condom and D means stay away from drugs.

Of course, not everyone will agree that these principles fall within their lifestyle, but the simple fact of the matter that a combination of A,B,C and D are effective. But perhaps what is even more effective is the message of director of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Charmaine Gauci.

The talk on AIDS was held at the Malta College of Arts and Technology and was mainly attended by 16 year olds. Dr Gauci, while doing the best she can on a local level, has taken the wise decision to encourage teenagers to join groups on Facebook and to inform themselves about the risks of AIDS and HIV. This is a very pro-active step. Everyone knows what teenagers are like, they will sometimes dig their heels in simply for the sake of it. But in suggesting the use of Facebook, Dr Gauci has given kids an alternative, insomuch as they will be able to use a tool of choice (Facebook and other such sites) in order to inform themselves about the killer disease.

But of course, HIV is not the only sexually transmitted disease out there. Just to name a few more we have: Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis, Herpes and Hepatitis. These are all threats to our sexual health and one would wonder how much the adult population knows about these diseases, let alone the younger generation.

Yes, we have said well done to Dr Gauci – any information, especially from a source which is certain to influence youngsters – is positive in the fight against the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

But it begs the question; where is the sexual health policy document? It has been in the pipeline for over 10 years and was actually requested “urgently” at the time. One of the drafts was discarded last year as unbelievably, the censors had got their red pens out and removed any mention of the word condom. Come off it... One is very sure that in this day and age, kids as young as 14 probably know more about condoms than your average 40-year-old.

And this is precisely why this document needs to be implemented. It is not only the younger generation that needs education, it is the older generation as well. Let us be very honest with ourselves and point out the reality, there are a fair amount of 40- to 50-year-olds that have entered into sexual relationships after marriage breakdown. And the amount of people carrying infections nowadays is much higher than hunk-dory (sic) Malta in the 1970s.

We understand that the document is ready, but after announcing this year’s budget, the government said that there were other priorities at the present time and that no funds were spared for its implementation.

While we understand that there are pressing matters, the sexual health policy implementation process is much needed. It is essential. Just because it involves sex and drugs, it does not mean that we can ignore it. This is real. It is in our midst and the longer we ignore it, the more risk we run of a proliferation of sexual infections. One hopes that somewhere along the line, it is implemented. In the meantime, given the lack of the document, one must encourage the Health Department to continue to push the issue under its own steam until the state gets its act together.