Goal Brazil: 1 billion condoms per year

BRAZIL WILL NOT MEET GOAL OF DISTRIBUTING 1 BILLION CONDOMS

Logistical Problems Caused Delays

The Brazilian Ministry of Health does not have the capacity to reach its goal of distributing one billion condoms annually as part of a campaign to halt the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in the country.

According to Mariangela Simao, Coordinator of the National Programme to Combat HIV and AIDS, the failure to  reach the target is due partially to a delay in receiving the funding from the World Bank and partially because Brazil does not have the capacity to inspect enough condoms on a monthly basis to reach the targets.

In addition, Simao said that there are some internal problems with the campaign, including delays in deliveries of condoms and failures of companies contracted to provide the condoms to pass quality control tests.

According to Simao, the Health Ministry hopes to distribute 500 million condoms this year, up from 251 million in 2005 and 253.7 million in 2006.
As a result of the campaign's setbacks, the government has not announced its plan for distributing condoms during Carnival, the country's annual festival, which begins next month.

The Health Ministry distributed 20 million condoms during the 2006 Carnival, almost twice as many as 2005, and carried out a widespread HIV and AIDS awareness campaign.

Kaiser Network 12/Jan/07

SOURCE: Kaiser Network, 12/Jan/07

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/60760.php

 

THE PLAN:

Public Health & Education | Brazil Plans To Offer Universal, No-Cost Access to Condoms, AIDS Director Says
[Aug 13, 2004]
      Brazil plans to distribute three billion condoms a year as part of a plan to offer universal access to condoms free-of-charge, Pedro Chequer, head of the country's AIDS program, said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. The condom program will build on the country's AIDS treatment program, which offers antiretroviral drugs at no cost to all HIV-positive people. Brazil's government distributed 20 million condoms in 1995 when the program began and plans to distribute 600 million this year, Chequer said. However, he did not say when the country would reach the "ideal" of distributing three billion condoms a year, which would be equivalent to 35 condoms for each of the 85 million people thought to be sexually active in the country, Reuters reports. "The contraceptive is mandatory in all non-stable sexual relationships," Chequer said. The government plans to provide incentives to local condom companies to guarantee that there will be sufficient supplies to carry out the program, Chequer said, according to Reuters. There are approximately 600,000 HIV-positive people in the country, although only 200,000 are aware of their status, according to government estimates (Reuters, 8/11).

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