In the war on HIV and Aids, activists, and now even one major church will tell you that the message of abstinence is being overtaken by the advocacy of protected sex. There are jingles, billboards, and advertisements promoting the use of condoms and now there are vending machines. The machines arrived in Belize 6 months ago and today, finally, the first two were installed. 7NEWS was there.
[Demonstration of Vending Machine]
Buying a pack of condoms will now be as simple as that - or at least it will be inside Planet Studio Club through use of this condom vending machine. This morning employees from PASMO and the Belize Enterprise for Sustained Technology, BEST, installed the first vending machine inside the male bathroom at the club. And it's inside this new nightclub that PASMO and the Ministry of Health are piloting use of the machines.
Elvis Requena, Project Coordinator
"The condom vending machine is part of an initiative to reduce the spread of HIV/Aids through non-traditional forms. There are 15 condom vending machines in the country and they are supposed to be distributed countrywide."
Elvis Requena is the project coordinator for Belize's multi-sectoral response to HIV and Aids.
Elvis Requena,
"What we're trying to do is a pilot project. We will look at it and monitor the use of the machine and the distribution of the condoms and based
on that we will either go with further initiatives or just go with what we have with the 15 machines. We are looking at non-traditional ways of getting the message out of safe sex. We have tried traditional ways and to some extent they've worked but we are now trying to tap into the younger generations and looking at alternative means of prevention."
Requena says there is perhaps no better place than inside of a nightclub to sell condoms and more importantly, spread the message of sexual responsibility.
Elvis Requena,
"We all know that when alcohol is involved a lot of people get a little bit loose and get more sociable and so we believe that this gets people a little closer and more friendly to each other. So we think that by having these machines in these areas where people tend to socialize, they would be readily accessible to them therefore increasing the use."
The machines are have been stocked with condoms provided by PASMO. Country representative Norman Garcia says they will be sold at below market value.
Norman Garcia, PASMO
"At most places it is $2.50 so we are selling below market value and that is basically our role but our overall aim is wider access to condoms. As you notice on the machines we always place the 'got it, get it' logo and that is also promoting wider access. So if it were not Vive, then it should have been any other condom."
The packs cost $2.25 and you'll need to have exact change to use the machines.
The vending machines were purchased at a cost of just over $11,000. That money came out of the Global Fund's $4.43 million grant to Belize's National Aids Program. The money is being managed by BEST.
