The National AIDS/HIV Council (Conavihsida) and ProFamilia non-governmental organization announced the start of a project to install 400 condom-dispensing machines in shopping malls and universities to prevent sexually transmissible diseases, non-planned pregnancies and AIDS/HIV. The program calls for the placement of 15 million quality condoms in those machines for sale at below market prices.
The target market are youths ages 15 to 19 years in the National District, Santo Domingo, Santiago, Duarte, San Juan and Barahona, San Pedro de Macoris and La Altagracia provinces.
The executive director of Conavihsida, Víctor Terrero said that the focus is on prevention. He said: “In the past three months, 53% of the population with university studies has had a high risk relationship. Of those, 62% were women in a first relationship with their boyfriends and 31% with friends. And 50.8% were men in a first relationship with their girlfriends.”
The program will last for three years. Conavihsida will be donating in the first year, 35 condom dispensing machines, 85 in the second year and 150 in the third. Profamilia will purchase 130 of the same machines for incorporating in the program, for the total of 400 machines. The program has an estimated cost of US$149,000.
Magaly Caram, executive director of Profamilia, expects the program to have a positive impact on the sexual and reproductive health of university students.
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Acento
14 February 2019
