The risk of acquiring an STD is probably higher than people's sexual urges and while it's not credited as a fact, sub-Saharan Africa is taking every step to ensure that pleasure doesn't come at the cost of health risks.
How? By a secret ring that women have to insert into their vagina to stop the spread of HIV. Coated in experimental medication dapivirine, an antiretroviral drug, the ring costs $7 and lasts for a month. All one has to do is fit it high up inside the vagina.
Also read: 7 painful facts about women living with HIV/AIDS in India
Especially in Malawi, the usage of this ring has been phenomenal as more and more women are adopting it as protection against infection from intercourse with partners who are adamant about not wearing a condom.
Reportedly, men in that region have multiple sexual partners and as per their cultural practices, women have a hard time negotiating their preferences when it comes to safe sex, which eventually becomes a major reason for the spread of HIV.
And for all those wondering how this magical ring is going to make such a huge difference, it's purely due to the fact that men reportedly cannot feel it at all – thus helping the prevention in secrecy.
Agnes Malema, a nurse and midwife, told the BBC: "The HIV in Malawi was really bad. Our wards were full. I can say the whole nation was sick. Everybody has been involved, everybody has lost loved ones. Normally in our culture negotiating sex with a partner is rather difficult, especially the partner putting on a condom. It's really a challenge."
As per studies, in 2013, a full million people living in Malawi, had HIV, and in the same year, there were 48,000 deaths related to AIDS. Not to forget, around 10,000 Malawian children die from HIV/AIDS every year.
Also, while the medical approval of this secret ring is still impending, it is reported that thousands of women get infected with the HIV virus every week in the sub-Saharan African region. Exactly why the ring runs the possibility of becoming a success - due to the drug dapivirine.
It makes women 92 percent less likely to be infected and one in three women who use the ring is protected. Leading the clinical trials on the ring, Dr. Annalene Nel said: "If you can reduce the risk for every one out of three women that can really make a difference.
"And for women that cannot negotiate safe sex, that cannot negotiate condom use, that might be their only option."
