Condom machines placed in internet cafes to combat AIDS

The government of Cote d'Ivoire has started to place condom dispensing machines in internet cafes as part of its drive to control HIV/AIDS infection among young people, a government official said on Monday. The project, financed by Belgium and supervised by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), involves the installation of vending machines that dispense cheap condoms in internet cafes in nine towns and cities across the country, he said. A packet of four condoms will cost just 100 FCFA (US 16 cents). "Young people use the internet to exchange ideas about AIDS with young people in other countries," a UNPF spokesman told IRIN. The government estimates that Cote d'Ivoire has an HIV infection rate of between 10 and 12 percent, one of the highest in West Africa. It reckons that 30 percent of young girls suffer unwanted pregnancies, of which 76 percent are terminated by abortion. Belgium donated US $760,000 to finance the dispensing of condoms in nine internet cafes in the interior of Cote d'Ivoire for 18 months as part of a $2.1 million grant towards AIDS prevention in West Africa. Belgium gave $1 million to support family planning and sexual health clinics in Niger last year and $400,000 to finance similar activities in Mali. The start of the condom distribution project in Cote d'Ivoire was delayed until last week by the outbreak of civil war in the country in September 2002. Cote d'Ivoire is still waiting to sign an agreement with the Swiss-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS/HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria that will unleash US $91 million of grants to combat AIDS in the country. The agreement was due to be signed in June, but was held up by squabbling between different government departments over who would get to spend the money. An official of the Ministry to Combat AIDS told IRIN on Monday that the agreement was now due to be signed in September.