Health Ministry Promoting Safe Sex for Cricket World Cup

Chief of Epidemiology and AIDS in the Ministry of Health, Professor Peter Figueroa, has said that in addition to the ongoing promotion of safer sex, the Ministry has been carrying out targeted intervention, particularly with commercial sex workers over the past year.
Professor Figueroa, who was speaking at this morning’s (Feb. 12) launch of Safer Sex Week at the University of Technology’s Old Hope Road campus, said that the move was in light of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.
“The general educational work that we are doing helps us to better prepare for it (Cricket World Cup),” he stated.
Noting the importance of stressing 100 per cent condom use, Professor Figueroa said that while condoms were readily accessible, the need to have condom machines on hand, must be impressed upon hoteliers.
“We have a challenge where the hotels tend to resist having condom machines in the bathrooms that the guests use or in the actual rooms of the hotel. Condom machines are there in the staff rooms of the workers,” he disclosed.
Chairperson of the National AIDS Committee, Howard Hamilton, echoed Professor Figueroa’s concerns, stating that “they (the hotels) are taking an unrealistic approach. Their argument is that they don’t wish to put condoms in the hotel rooms because it may carry the wrong message, but people don’t just go to hotel rooms as a place to sleep while they are holidaying.we need to get that message out, that the hotels need to be a part of this, because a lot of the visitors who are coming will be staying at hotels and they need to have access to condoms”.
Seven hotels now have condom machines, a figure which Mr. Hamilton said, was inadequate.
Safer Sex Week is being observed from February 11-17 under the theme: ‘Safe Sex/Good Sex=Rubbers and a Test’.