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Condom carnival for Brazil
10/02/2004 22:10 - (SA)
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil's health ministry will dole out 10 million free condoms to carnival revellers in an Aids-prevention campaign ahead of the country's biggest blowout of the year, said health minister Humberto Costa on Monday.
"Nothing gets through a condom. Use one and check it for yourself," the ministry's national radio and television campaign suggests.
Costa said the campaign was aimed at highlighting how condoms could prevent Aids and sexually transmitted diseases as Brazil prepared for the February 20-24 carnival, a week of festivities that included parades with scantily clad women and sexually-charged parties.
But Costa cautioned that the Roman Catholic Church might oppose the campaign.
The Vatican has opposed the use of condoms, and recently questioned their effectiveness against sexually transmitted diseases.
The health ministry dropped its initial slogan - "You can have faith in it, use a condom" - to avoid a confrontation with the church.
The campaign will use public billboards, including one showing a fish swimming inside a condom.
In one television ad, one man pours beer into a condom to convince a friend that it can hold back anything.
The campaign was launched because a study last year showed 15% of sexually-active Brazilians did not believe condoms could stop diseases, said Costa.
Rio de Janeiro, which hosts Brazil's most-famous carnival, will receive one million condoms. Sao Paulo, South America's most populous city, will get two million.
- AFP
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South Africa
