|
|
France to fight AIDS with 20-cent condoms
Nov 27 2:43 PM US/Eastern
The French government said it would make 10 million cut-priced condoms available in high
schools, night clubs, cinemas and hospitals to try to combat the spread of HIV-AIDS.
Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said the campaign aimed to ensure safe-sex becomes "a reflex",
with condoms to go on sale for 20 euro cents (25 US cents) in 20,000 outlets around the country
from early next year.
The condoms will also be available in thousands of tobacconist shops, newsagents and
pharmacies.
According to the French sanitary institute INVS, 6,700 new cases of HIV were reported in France
in 2005, compared to 7,000 the previous year.
A quarter involved homosexuals, according to the INVS, which warned of a recent rise in
high-risk behaviour among the gay population.
In more than half of new cases, the virus was transmitted among heterosexuals. Of these, women
accounted for 57 percent of all cases, and 48 percent involved immigrants from sub-Saharan
Africa.
Two percent were due to needle-sharing among drug users, while for the rest the mode of
transmission was not known.
By the end of last year, France had recorded 60,833 cases of full-blown AIDS since the outbreak
of the disease. There are currently 150,000 people living with HIV in the country, of whom
29,000 have AIDS.
|
|