Brasília, February 9, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - "Nothing goes through the condom. Use it and trust it." This is the slogan for the 2004 Carnaval Aids-prevention campaign, kicked off today by the Ministry of Health (MS), in Brasília. This year's campaign will be directed at 18-39 year-old males who belong to classes C, D, and E (the three lowest social classes on a scale of 5), groups in which the use of condoms is less common, and will emphasize how secure condoms are.

A survey conducted last year by the Ibope (Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics) for the National Sexually Transmitted Diseases Program (DST/Aids) showed that 15% of the sexually active population, approximately 14 million people, are not totally convinced that the condom bars the Aids virus. The same study revealed that, of the people who don't use condoms, 45% affirmed they don't like them, use another contraceptive method, or don't trust them.

According to the Minister of Health, Humberto Costa, these would be the basic reasons for focussing the 2004 campaign on the security of condoms. "We shall focus this year's campaign on the people who don't use condoms because they lack total confidence in their use or because they consider them inconvenient. So the campaign will try to reinforce exactly how secure they are," he affirmed. (DAS)