Spokesman of the Rio Olympics 2016 committee, Lucas Dantas has announced that they will distribute 450,000 condoms to the 10,500 athletes expected in Brazil starting on July 24, the opening day of the Olympic games.
Each athlete is expected to get an average of 42 condoms a three-fold increase over the number of condoms distributed at the London Olympics, Sports Inquirer reports.
50,000 of the female protection type would be given out by Brazil’s Ministry of Health.
With the figure, the 2016 games would be setting a new record of highest number of free condoms for athletes.
Dantas said Brazil is a leader when it comes to AIDS prevention.
“Brazil really encourages safe sex and athletes set an example to the general population. They can play an important role in the fight against AIDS,” he said.
He also noted that many Olympic athletes do not have access to condoms in their native countries and may take the freebies home after the Games.
Brazil, a country of about 204 million people with the largest Catholic population in the world, is a pioneer in the fight against AIDS and offers free treatment to 730,000 HIV-positive people in the country.
