Government health workers distribute condoms for Valentine's Day

Government health workers distributed condoms in a Manila flower market area Saturday on the eve of Valentine's Day, DPA reported.

The health department said the programme was part of the agency's campaign to fight the HIV/AIDS virus dubbed "Be Careful Always, My Valentine."

Aside from distributing condoms, health workers and flower vendors in the capital's Dangwa area also gave adult shoppers leaflets with information about the disease and how it can be prevented.

The condoms were provided free by local manufacturers, since it is against the official policy of the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to procure condoms and other contraceptives.

While the official number of AIDS cases in the country remained low, health officials expressed alarm over the increase in HIV infection during the past year.

The health department said that in December 2009 alone, a total of 126 HIV/AIDS cases were reported. For the whole of 2009, 835 people contracted the deadly virus, much higher than the 110 new infections reported in 2008.

A total of 4,424 cases of HIV/AIDS have been reported in the country since 1984, but health experts warned that the number of unreported AIDS cases could take the total as high as 10,000.