[March 16, 2013]

Condom Nation Rolls into Pensacola!

AIDS Healthcare Foundation:

The mobile condom distribution team that distributed 5.5 million condoms throughout the U.S. last year, Condom Nation - an initiative from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization - has launched their second U.S. tour, which has already seen the team's 18-wheel, 72-foot custom-wrapped big rig distributing nearly 700,000 condoms in Texas and Arkansas during a speedy cross-country cruise to South Florida. The team will drop off condoms at five distribution events throughout Florida - beginning with Saturday's distribution and testing event in Pensacola - prior to an appearance at the Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale on March 24^th.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 1.4 million cases of chlamydia were reported in 2011, and reporting of new gonorrhea cases saw its second consecutive year of increase with more than 300,000 new cases that year. These are just some of the estimated 20 million new STD cases reported annually, half of which occur in young people aged 15-24. The CDC estimates the health care costs to the nation for treating these diseases - which are preventable through condom use - to be about $16 billion per year.

"Condom Nation is about access to condoms," said Condom Nation Director James Vellequette. "Our goal is to make condoms easily and readily available for free or at a very minimal cost to those receiving them through our widespread, national, fun and motivated distribution efforts. Simultaneously, we need to eliminate the stigma around having condoms, carrying them, selling them, or best of all, giving them away so that everyone has access to them whenever they need them."

The team had a preliminary goal of distributing 25 million condoms through their domestic U.S. tour and an additional 25 million through newly launched global Condom Nation teams in countries around the world. However, with requests pouring in from public and private agencies across the US, coupled with new opportunities to access younger demographics through distribution to high schools and colleges, "we already see ourselves greatly exceeding our initial estimates," said Vellequette, adding that 50 million condoms distributed in the U.S. alone is a more accurate projection.

Condom Nation left Los Angeles on Sunday, March 10^th, and has made stops in Dallas, Texas - where the team dropped well over 600,000 condoms for distribution to agencies in need across the south - and in Little Rock, Arkansas, where they provided more than 50,000 condoms on Wednesday morning to the state's Department of Health. With public health resources being continually cut across the nation, the department in Arkansas reached out to Condom Nation requesting help in their efforts to maintain accessibility to free condoms for their constituency. The Condom Nation caravan sped through five Southwestern states - stopping in Dallas - before arriving in Little Rock with the donation.

After Saturday's event in Pensacola, the Condom Nation Caravan will proceed to the South Florida cities of Jacksonville, Orlando, Saint Petersburg, and Fort Myers to drop off condoms and offer HIV tests - both free of charge to the recipients - before the big rig and van arrive in Fort Lauderdale for the Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival on March 24^th. Following that, the team will head up the East Coast in time to make an appearance at AHF's Keep The Promise on AIDS March and Rally in New York City on April 6^th.

About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to over 200,000 individuals in 28 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): @AIDSHealthcare.

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