Love Cover Protect condom packet

This condom packet was part of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation’s Love Cover Protect programme which supported Africans living with HIV in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Between 1996 and 2012, many Africans emigrated to Aotearoa and formed communities here. As many came from countries with a high prevalence of HIV, there was an increased number of people living with HIV in these communities. This saw African communities becoming the second-most impacted by HIV in Aotearoa, behind men who have sex with men (MSM).

In order to better support these communities and raise awareness of HIV, stigma and safer sex, the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) created the Love Cover Protect programme in 2011 in partnership with African communities. In 2018, the programme was rebranded to Pamoja, which means ‘together’ in the Swahili language. The programme is delivered in a culturally appropriate manner that best serves African communities in Aotearoa.

The aim of Pamoja is to end new HIV transmissions in Aotearoa by 2025. In recent years, HIV transmissions within African communities have continued to decline.