Govt welcomes condom support

2010-03-10 12:03

Johannesburg - The health department on Wednesday welcomed Britain's plan to give South Africa 42m condoms ahead of the Soccer World Cup.

"The Department of Health welcomes the support made in an announcement by the British Minister for International Development (Gareth Thomas) that his country will help South Africa to buy additional condoms as part of efforts to combat the spread of HIV and Aids," it said.

This was in response to a request by President Jacob Zuma for an extra billion condoms for the thousands of soccer fans expected to visit the country.

He had asked for British help during his recent state visit to the UK.

Emphasis on prevention

"Obviously there's a big focus on the World Cup coming up and a huge increase in the number of people coming into South Africa," Thomas was quoted as saying.

"The South Africans have identified themselves the need to get more condoms in place. South Africa specifically asked for British assistance and we are responding to that request."

The health department said this was part of a global effort to tackle HIV/Aids.

"The announcement comes at the time when the health department is scaling up its efforts to combat the spread of HIV in the country. In accepting the Global Fund Report this past Monday in Johannesburg, the Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi stressed the need for more emphasis to be placed on prevention," the department read.

- SAPA