Bellissima’s owner, Hayat Ahmed
[Photo: Tesfalem Woldes/IRIN]
ADDIS ABABA (IRIN) — Bellissima, on bustling Gabon Street in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, could be just another upmarket café, except that each order comes with a packet of ‘Sensation’ condoms, and is served in ‘Sensation’ cups by staff wearing ‘Sensation’ T-shirts.
“I wanted to link business with a message for sexually active people,” Bellissima’s owner, Hayat Ahmed, 26, told IRIN/PlusNews. “I am the brand ambassador for ‘Sensation’ condoms in Ethiopia, and I want to spread the message that condoms can protect you from HIV/AIDS.”
Hayat, a former beauty queen, has been involved in HIV/AIDS campaigns since she was crowned Miss Ethiopia in 2003 and subsequently named an HIV/AIDS ambassador.
Her face adorns billboards and she regularly appears on Ethiopia’s only television station promoting condom use. “When I walk down the road even children recognise me,” she said. “But they do not call me Hayat; they call me ‘Sensation’.”
Modelled on ‘condom bars’ in Asia, Bellissima handed out six boxes of condoms, each containing 48 packets of three-in-a-pack, within two days of opening its doors.
The free condoms have elicited mixed reactions, with older patrons tending not to like the idea, while younger ones love it and sometimes ask for a second packet.
“We have had young people come in and ask ‘Is it true that you actually give free condoms?’ and when we say, ‘yes’, their faces brighten up and they quickly order,” said one waiter. “But we have also had people who get shocked when we bring the bill with a condom, some saying we are promoting immorality.”
Guests do not have to take the packs home when they leave the restaurant. “It is your choice to take it or leave it,” Hayat said. “We also plan to set up condom vending machines in the toilets.”
Her campaign is supported by social marketing groups such as the non-profit organisation, DKT-Ethiopia, which sold almost 60 million condoms in 2007 and also launched a coffee-flavoured version of Sensation condoms. Ethiopia is widely thought to be the birthplace of coffee and is drunk nationally.
Hayat intends to open more cafés in the capital and other towns, and continue promoting various anti-HIV strategies, including abstinence and faithfulness. She might even expand the ‘condom bars’ concept to other African countries.
“A lot of people in Ethiopia are ashamed of talking about or using condoms,” said. “Yet some companies put condoms in their toilets and when you go to look, each day, the boxes are empty. I don’t care if the condoms are used behind closed doors or in public – as long as many people use them.”
Ethiopia’s HIV prevalence is estimated at over two percent among sexually active people aged 15 to 49. A report by the Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office in March noted that between 2000 and 2005, condom use among males increased from 30.3 percent to 51.9 percent, and among females from 13.4 percent to 23.6 percent.
According to Ethiopian government data, half the public sector institutions and 20 percent of private businesses have mainstreamed HIV/AIDS prevention in their operational policies.
However, Philopos Petros, head of the Ethiopian Civil Service College’s HIV/AIDS management unit, noted that “There are still educated people exposed to HIV and dying of AIDS,” and said greater awareness was necessary.
“One person cannot change the world, but I want to make a contribution,” Hayat said. “I have a name and the will, and I will use that.”
6 thoughts on “From beauty queen to AIDS activist”
While I applaud her dedication to fighting HIV/AIDS, I can not disagree more on the way she is promoting the condom use. I wished she could hand out pamphlet that tells the best way to prevent HIV/AIDS is through the practice abstinence, get tested before you marry someone or start serious relationships. Otherwise just because it works in other parts of the world it does not mean it will work for Ethiopia with different costumes and values. This is nothing more than saying it is ok go have sex so long as you use condom. After all condoms are known to break also.
It is possible one person can change the world, and you can, pretty Sensation!
By distributing condoms without charge to the sexually active Ethiopians, you do not know how many lives you may have saved from this killer disease – AIDS –may be in thousands. Even if you have saved just one life, you have done a great job, and may God bless you and your family.
As you know, all Ethiopians are beautiful people like you, and I understand you don’t want to see them destroy their charm and beauty by this incurable disease, and that is why you have been advising them to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases, and at the same, I want you to ignore those other Ethiopians who opposed to distributing condoms to the young, believing it will promote immorality. Immorality is to ignore the young Ethiopians and let them die by this disease instead of helping them protect themselves from this killer disease. Continue distributing these life-saving condoms to those who need them wherever they are; if the young are in the church, go to the church with boxes of condoms and distribute them; if they are in the stadium, watching soccer (football), go there and let them have those condoms.
I wonder if it is a good idea to copy whatever e see in the west or east and adopt it as ours. We Ethiopians always had our ways of doing things. Whatever happened to that? Not to be driven by profit motivated corporations like DKT to change our identifying modes of living would had been our unique character. Not so anymore. Sad! Sad.
The lady may have good heart but when she says…”I don’t care if the condoms are used behind closed doors or in public – as long as many people use them.”I shrug.
What is in her mind when she says she doesn’t care about condon use in public? I don’t think most Ethiopians will agree with her.
promoting condom use should not be the first hand to fight HIV AIDS. she could have promoted abstinence and one to one or getting test before sex or marriage. if that was her first and for most option she could have done more and bring change. condoms are everywhere, media talks about it, there r many promotion. but what we need is strength of th mind to stay one to one, or to be abstain. so if she had done this, she could have been different from the rest who have tried to change people behaviors. she could have distributed one tract with a bill which talks about honesty, dignity and abstinence. talking about condom and giving them will let them think they can use condom even though they have kids and wife at home. she has to stick to the idea of telling people to stay in one to one relation or getting married through test or abstinence. forget the condom staff. let other use and promote this idea. but she works for the organization which promotes condom known as Sensation she wont give up. that is the reason behind. sorry to say that
I think it would’ve been better for Hayat to teach the idiot wife of Meles Sytanawi , azeb mesfin ( Former ex-wife of Kinfe G/Medhin who was assassinated by the set up Meles Seytanawi) to stop spreading the HIV/AIDS. Meles Seytanwi and his idiot members of Weyane kill more Ethiopians everyday more than HIV/AIDS does. Hayat tries to save Ethiopians from getting HIV while Meles Seytanawi and its self owned party TPLF members are spreading the virus very rapidly among Ethiopians by using one blade to shave thousands of prisoners. In addition to that the Meles Seytawi wife Azeb takes all the aid money that comes in the name of protecting HIV from donor governments and uses the money for her own pocket.
On top of that due to the bad governance system and bad policy of Weyane that is orchestrated by Meles Sytanwi, the whole county has not been able to control HIV/AIDS with a short period of time as Ugandians did. As a result the number of death toll from HIV/AIDS has been dramatically increased every year.
The other trajedy is the youth who have been survived from HIV/AIDS are either get killed by agazi forces or send as troops to destruct the Somalia region forcefully.
Anyway, Hayat you are doing an awesome job and continue to do your best.
However, the best remedy to eradicate and protect from HIV/AIDS is to completely destroy the Weyane gangsters from Ethiopia.
hi hayat you ask to leave a comment.must i have to agree with you or i have an option to disagree? if so ,my comment is condom could be a temporary solution not even secure but why dont we try to find the root of this killer disease.
I saw many people cured from hiv by repenting their sins and undersanding why the world have affected with it.so my point is we are all siners we need JESUS CHRIST.