Mpume Manyoni leads DREAMS Programme implementation in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, a PEPFAR-funded program to prevent HIV/AIDS among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), with inner condoms as one of the prevention priorities.
This article is part of an African Alliance series celebrating 25 years of the inner condom in South Africa and the people who helped to establish the world’s biggest state-funded inner condom project.
Mpume Manyoni is a Regional Manager for TB HIV Care, a non-profit organization that aims to prevent, find, and treat TB, HIV, and other major diseases. Founded in Cape Town in 1929 (as a TB organisation) and now operating in more than 20 districts in 8 provinces of South Africa, TB HIV Care is a South African non-profit organization.
“We strengthen public health services, forging links between health facilities and the communities we serve, and bringing health services into homes, workplaces, and public spaces,” says Manyoni.
Manyoni highlights that the FC2/inner condom is important because it gives women the power to negotiate condom use.
“Oftentimes, they cannot negotiate condom use, thus exacerbating their vulnerability to HIV and STIs. Female condoms further empower young women to take control of their health and ultimately improve their health outcomes.”
Manyoni hopes that in the future, all young women will use inner condoms, not only relying on men to use condoms.
“However, for us to end HIV by 2030 as per the UNAIDS fast-track targets, there is still a need for further education on the use of female/inner condoms, especially for young women in rural areas,” Manyoni explains.
Manyoni currently leads the DREAMS Programme implementation in Zululand and uThukela Districts. DREAMS is a PEPFAR-funded program that uses a multi-sectoral approach to prevent HIV/AIDS among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), prioritizing prevention methods such as the female condom.
Manyoni says: “Advocacy and empowerment are needed to ensure that young women can use inner condoms consistently and correctly and that it doesn’t remain a taboo in the communities we work in.”
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