Jan 15, 2007 / 11:24 am
The ministries of Health and of Education in Brazil have announced a plan to install condom dispensers in public schools that offer sexual and reproductive education courses.
According to Ricardo Henriques of the Ministry of Education, “the idea of putting condoms in schools” is so that “young people have the right to exercise choice.”
A 2005 school census revealed that 98,000 schools have courses on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Of those, 17% of secondary schools and 9% of primary schools distribute the condoms without charge.
In 2006 the Brazilian government distributed more than 253 million condoms free of charge, although its goal is to distribute more than 1 billion per year. Nevertheless, even though she acknowledge such a feat was technically not possible, Mariangela Simao, coordinator of the National Program for Combating AIDS, said, “We would like to distribute 500 million condoms free of charge each year. This would be an ideal amount.”
The Program for Combating AIDS was implemented in Brazil at the behest of the United Nations.