Surabaya distributes free condoms

SURABAYA: The provincial family planning board here has distributed 100,000 free condoms to support the birth control program in the East Java capital city.

Chief of the board Sugiri Sarief said on Wednesday the move followed last year's project in which 150,000 free condoms were handed out to improve men's participation in the family planning scheme.

Sugiri said the condoms were distributed mainly in red-light districts across the city through local family planning centers and non-governmental organizations.

He added that condoms had proven effective in preventing HIV, although condom users made up only 1 percent of family planning participants.

Unfortunately, many sex workers do not insist that their customers use condoms, Sugiri said.

He added that his office would organize an international seminar on reproductive health in either September or October. The seminar will feature experts from the United States, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines. -- JP