( CNN ) -- Packaging can change how people see things . And when it comes to sex , it could maybe help save lives too . The Center for African Family Studies ( CAFS ) , a Nairobi-based international NGO , has teamed up with Kenyan artist Michael Soi to create an eye-catching condom line with pop art-inspired packaging to promote safe sex and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS . The group has turned to crowdsourcing website Indiegogo to raise funds for its campaign , which aims to encourage condom usage among local youth in a country where an estimated 1.6 million people struggle with HIV/AIDS . `` They were giving out free condoms when I went to the HIV conference in Cape Town recently , '' says CAFS director of operations Jonathan Spangler . `` These condoms were brightly colored , like nothing seen in Kenya -- glow in the dark , different flavors , different prints . We put a picture of them on Facebook and we had youth calling us up asking where they could purchase them , '' he adds . `` We 've never had that sort of reaction to CAFS programs . So we said why do n't we try produce our own condom line because there seems to be a market . We want to innovate and create new programming that is sustainable and even generates income for the youth , '' he adds.. Stigma vs. safety . HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most prominent public health obstacles many African countries face today . In recent years , the disease -- which had reached epidemic proportions -- has started to decline in Kenya as a result of stronger public awareness campaigns and the impact of local education programs . While the outlook is positive , campaigners say more needs to be done to continue to reduce the threat of HIV/AIDS in the country -- a start could be made by tackling the stigma surrounding the purchase of condoms . `` Most people are actually very afraid of going to vendors in supermarkets and chemists to buy condoms because we are a fairly reserved society , '' explains Genevieve Imbali , communications and marketing officer at CAFS . `` Most people are n't very open to the idea that very young people might walk into a shop just to buy condoms because nobody wants to be known to be having sex ... There is so much stigma associated with condom purchase in the country . '' Eye-catching designs . To address this , the bright packaging of CAFS ' colored condoms is specifically designed to disguise the product inside . Imbali explains that by making condoms less obvious , more people will be willing to buy them . She also says that the condoms currently available in the country are either too expensive or low quality -- issues , she claims , will be tackled with the CAFS condom line . `` For the condoms that are given out for free at schools , the youth still do not take them , '' argues Imbali . `` They look at them and think : 'You know what , you are giving this for free but they are not good quality . ' So they 'd probably just have unprotected sex rather than use the ones that are easily accessible . '' Collaborating with artists . But getting an artist to agree to provide designs for the packaging became a struggle . Many did n't want their work associated with sex and CAFS hit a roadblock -- until they met with Michael Soi . The Nairobi-based artist is well-known for his bold , but often controversial , themes placed within his paintings . Unafraid to shy away from taboo subjects like sex and interracial relationships , Soi was more than happy to collaborate with the NGO . `` I felt like everybody is basically trying to deal with this whole issue -- HIV , unwanted pregnancies -- and when I talk about everybody I mean the church is doing whatever they can , the government is doing whatever they can , '' says Soi . `` I felt the project was a good thing . I wanted to try to chip in and create something that would help fight a good fight , '' he says . Soi explains that sex is n't discussed openly and that as a result many young people learn about the dangers of unprotected sex the hard way -- through experience . However , he does believe awareness is increasing and he hopes his work will continue to change attitudes surrounding sex in Kenya . `` I think it 's important to try and play a part and make sure that people will not go through the same mistakes as what my generation has gone through . '' READ THIS : How medics saved lives at Westgate . READ THIS : Tales of triumph from a top surgeon .
Kenyan women face social problems purchasing condoms , according to the Center for African Family Studies in Nairobi . The NGO has launched a crowdfunding campaign to start a line of pop ##py condoms . They say putting art on packaging disguises condoms and encourages safe sex .