North Sumatra distributes free condoms

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The North Sumatra Health Office will distribute 2.7 million condoms for free in an effort to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in the province.

An official at the health office, Syaiful Munawar Sitompul, said the condoms would be distributed in areas where commercial sex workers, who were susceptible to the lethal virus, work.

He said the distribution of condoms, to mark World Aids Day which fell on Dec. 1, was timely, as the number of people with HIV/AIDS in the province was significant.

He said that 113 people were living with the deadly virus in North Sumatra. Ninety of the 113 are residents of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. -- JP