Thai authorities will distribute 95 million condoms for free from February 1 to encourage safe sex before Valentine’s Day.
From February 1, universal health card holders are eligible to receive 10 condoms a week for a year, Rachada Dhnadirek, a Thai government spokesman, said today. The condom pick-up locations, which come in four sizes, are pharmacies and primary care rooms in hospitals in Thailand.
This free condom campaign will help prevent diseases, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, AIDS, and improve public health, Ms. Rachada said. The number of free condoms is 95 million.
Volunteers hand out condoms to teenagers in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 1, 2002. Photo: AFP
About 50 million people out of a population of nearly 70 million in Thailand participate in the government’s universal health care program, also known as the “yellow card”. Holders of the “yellow card” are provided with a number of free medical services at public hospitals and designated private hospitals in Thailand.
Thailand has seen an increase in sexually transmitted infections in recent years, with gonorrhea and syphilis infections accounting for more than half of all cases in 2021. The main affected age group is 15 to 15 years old. 19 years old and between 20 and 24 years old.
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