Condom caravan to spread awareness

EFE en The News

A group of transvestites is conducting a mobile HIV awareness campaign via their "Condomóvil " which they hope will help boost condom use and lift the stigma of HIV testing.

The three transvestites, Britney, Wilka and Penny, kicked off the tour in Mexico City, and plan to head to Baja California, Sonora, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí in their Condomóvil, a van designated for this journey. In the aforementioned pit stops and along the way, the three will hand out free condoms - they´re expecting to dole out between 80,000 and 200,000 of them - as well as conduct free HIV tests to those who wish to be tested.

The program is being supported by the AIDS Health Care Foundation and the federal Health Secretariat.

The nation´s AIDS director, Jorge Saavedra, said the Condomóvil idea was a positive step, as prevention is needed, and the stigma surrounding testing for HIV must be overcome. Saavedra, an openly gay, HIV-positive man himself, recently captured much media attention at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

About 200,000 people in Mexico are believed to be HIV-positive, but the government and AIDS workers believe that most don´t even know it because they have never been tested. Every year, about 8,000 new cases of HIV are diagnosed.

The new Condomóvil will only stock male condoms. Saavedra explained that female condoms are far more expensive, costing 30 pesos each compared to 32 centavos for the male version.