Brazilian Government Begins Distribution of 10 Million Condoms Ahead of Carnival

The Brazilian government on Monday began distributing a "record" 10 million condoms as part of a campaign to help limit the spread of HIV during the Carnival season, which begins in less than two weeks and is a time when people are more likely to engage in "casual sex," Reuters reports. The "nothing gets past a condom" campaign is aimed at the 14 million Brazilians who do not believe that a condom can prevent HIV transmission. "Carnival is a time when there's a lot of contact, you've got people wearing very few clothes, which ends up stimulating more intense sexual relations," Brazilian Health Minister Humberto Costa said. The government campaign has "upset" Brazil's Roman Catholic Church, which opposes condom distribution, saying that it promotes promiscuity, according to Reuters. Costa "vetoed" the campaign's original slogan, "Put faith in the condom," to avoid an "unnecessary confrontation" with the Catholic Church, according to Reuters. Costa said, "We respect all religions' positions, our concern is the health of the population" (Reuters, 2/9).