LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is celebrating International Condom Day – the day before Valentine’s Day – with worldwide activities highlighting the importance of using condoms to practice safer sex. AHF teams in more than 40 countries will hold events to educate on condom use, distribute free condoms, and encourage everyone to start or continue using condoms regularly. In the U.S., AHF is staging its wildly popular, sold-out “A Westside Story Burlesque Show” in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one million people acquire an STI globally every day, and last year, the world fell disturbingly short of curbing an estimated 1.3 million new HIV infections. Condoms are the answer to both vital issues and more, but they can only prevent diseases if people have access and use them correctly,” said AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy Terri Ford. “We call on governments, world and community leaders, and educational institutions across all countries to promote comprehensive sexual education and proper condom use to help sexually active people of all ages stay safe and healthy. On this ICD, we also urge governments everywhere to make free or affordable condoms available to all. HIV is preventable, so why are we not using the most cost-effective tool we have?”
Condoms have averted an estimated 117 million new HIV infections since 1990, which is why, on International Condom Day and beyond, the world must remember—condoms are safe, sexy, and essential to ending HIV/AIDS.
AHF created ICD in 2009, a global commemoration recognized by many international public health institutions, including the WHO, to emphasize the importance of using condoms for safer sex to prevent HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and unplanned pregnancies. ICD also provides advocates an opportunity to urge policymakers to implement condom tax waivers and declassify condoms as medical devices to allow for easier importation and increased access.
AHF distributes 5 million free condoms worldwide annually. Visit LOVEcondoms.org to learn more.
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.9 million people in 46 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. We are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare