Friday, July 9, 2004
Vietnam unveils first ever condom-vending machine
Agence France-Presse Hanoi, July 9
Vietnam unveiled its first ever condom-vending machine on Friday as part of a campaign to cut unwanted pregnancies and prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The machine, which was installed at a "bia hoi" or local pub in Hanoi and attracted a few curious onlookers, came as US Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias visited the communist nation to assess the impact of the disease.
His three-day trip followed last month's decision by US President George W Bush to add Vietnam to the list of countries eligible for funding to help tackle its emerging HIV/AIDS crisis.
"Vietnam is a country where the epidemic up until about this time has been largely contained in commercial sex workers and intravenous drug users but is on the verge of exploding into the general population," he told reporters.
"In fact, there are some estimates that the rate of increase between the number of persons infected now and the projected number by 2010 for Vietnam could be as many as eight times."
Organisers of the campaign to encourage greater use of condoms said more prophylactic dispensers would be set up in bars, cafes and public toilets across the Vietnamese capital throughout the year.
"Condom vending machines are common in many countries around the world," said Lin Menuhin, the deputy director in Vietnam of the non-governmental organisation DKT International, which initiated the project.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.