Condom Donation to South Africa for World Cup Visitors

In less than two months, the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) World Cup will be held in South Africa with over thirty teams attending on behalf of the countries they represent. Football (soccer to us Americans) is the most popular sport on the planet so the FIFA World Cup is arguably the most important sporting event of the year. Sorry, Super Bowl die-hards. Naturally, the nation is preparing for a huge influx of soccer players and fans to come swarming in. Because of this, the United Kingdom is providing over 1.5 million dollars in condoms in an effort to fight AIDS and HIV. The condoms will be donated by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. They stated they are “supporting South Africa’s leadership and drive to turn the tide on their epidemic.”

South Africa feels that in order to meet the normal demands of the country coupled with the fans and soccer players (thought to be just under half a million people) brought in to enjoy the World Cup, they will need one billion condoms for the year. In fact, that is twice as many condoms that the government distributes during a regular year. While the number of condoms needed may seem exaggerated to some, consider the fact that South Africa has the highest rate of HIV cases compared to every other country in the world.

In a medical conference organized by FIFA (the organization that sponsors the World Cup), Victor Ramathesele, the medical official for South Africa, expressed that the country was, indeed, preparing for all their visitors. He stated, “There’s going to be a large number of people who will be descending on to the country. There’s going to be a spirit of festivity and…there could be a more than usual demand for measures such as condoms. So there are measures in place to ensure that the condom supply is going to be ramped up during the tournament.”

The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, was recently visiting the United Kingdom. Since he has taken office, his administration has been credited with beefing up the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The administration before his was notorious for denying that a link existed between HIV and AIDS. Instead of promoting the use of condoms, they advised the population to eat vegetables like garlic and beetroot to help remedy the virus instead of taking antiretroviral drugs.

Despite his fight against the AIDS epidemic, activists have zeroed in on President Zuma’s personal life and the fact that he has three wives and a child that was born out of wedlock. They feel he should be more of an example to South Africa.