Philippine government raises awareness of HIV and AIDS with Valentine's campaign
15/02/2010
Manila's busy flower market was home to the Philippine government's latest HIV and AIDS campaign on Saturday, the AFP news agency reports.
Stalls and booths were set up to give Filipino people free condoms and more information about HIV and AIDS as part of a Valentine's Day campaign to combat the growing number of HIV cases in the south-east Asian country.
Despite the largely Catholic country having one of the lowest HIV and AIDS prevalence levels - less than 0.1 per cent of the population are believed to be HIV positive - December 2009 saw 126 new cases of HIV and AIDS in the Philippines, the highest recorded for a single month since 1985.
Speaking to the news agency, Eric Tayag, head of the Philippine government's epidemiology centre, said: "We tried to come up with an innovative way to get across the safe sex message."
However, the campaign came under criticism from Catholic bishop Teodoro Bacani, who accused the government of promoting promiscuity among young Filipinos instead of pushing a message of sexual abstinence.
Written by John Curtis
