Condoms For Olympic Athletes: An Ongoing Campaign On HIV/AIDS

Photo illustration (Dave Kim/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics will prepare about 150 thousand condoms for the participating athletes. This was done as a campaign to increase understanding of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Even so, organizers urged athletes to take the condoms home as gifts, instead of allowing them to use them in the Olympic Village. The reason is COVID-19.

In the Olympic Village, the organizers implement strict social distancing rules and health protocols. In other words, there is also little chance for them to socialize with outsiders, let alone have sex.

"The distribution of condoms is not to be used in athletes' villages, but to be brought back to their respective countries to increase understanding of HIV and AIDS issues," organizers said in an email sent to Reuters.

Organizers have also imposed a ban on spectators from abroad. The organizers also appealed to the audience in the field to only give support through applause.

Yelling is forbidden. Especially singing the yells. "We have to do what we can to ensure that an outbreak doesn't happen, and we need the cooperation of athletes and delegates to make this a success."

Continuous campaign

Photo illustration (Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition/Unsplash)

The tradition of giving out condoms is not the first time at the Olympics. Since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, organizers have carried out this campaign. The results are popular. Organizers agreed to keep this movement going.

According to data released by the Data and Information Center of the Ministry of Health in 2017, 35 million people in the world are currently living with HIV. Of that number, 19 million in the world do not know they are HIV positive.

Looking at the trend since 2011, the number of HIV cases tends to increase every year. Meanwhile, AIDS cases are relatively stable.

This shows that more and more people with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are still infected but have not yet entered the AIDS stage. Remember, HIV and AIDS are two different things.

Citing the Halodoc site, HIV is the virus. The virus causes damage to the immune system. The term HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.

From the name, we can understand that HIV can only be transmitted to humans and attacks the immune system. When HIV infection spreads, the immune system in the body cannot work optimally.

Meanwhile, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a condition that occurs due to HIV infection. When HIV attacks a person and is left untreated, the infection can progress to AIDS.

Even so, there are several treatments that can be done to control the virus effectively so that its life cycle stops. One of them with antiretroviral.

*Read other information about HIV AIDS or read other interesting articles from Ramdan Febrian.

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