Free condoms for Valentine's Day! This country to distribute free condoms to deal with STDs, teen pregnancy

• Image Credit: Google

• Feb 2, 2023 | Dhupali Das

To get free condoms for Valentine's Day, registration has to be done through an application. Know why this country has rolled out such a scheme...

Digital Desk: In an effort to reduce teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), Thailand is distributing 95 million free condoms before Valentine's Day.

If annual contraceptive sales statistics are any indication to buy, people are more likely to purchase them on or around Valentine's Day than at any other time of year, and the Thai government is taking a progressive approach to it, in contrast to the country's pervasive cultural conservatism in the southeast Asian country.

According to Thailand government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek, universal healthcare cardholders who want to take advantage of the scheme (and, of course, sex) would be entitled to receive 10 condoms a week for a year starting from Wednesday, February 1, 2023.

"The effort to provide free condoms to gold-card holders will benefit in disease prevention and public health," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The condoms are available in four sizes and will be distributed in pharmacies and hospitals around the country in order to prevent STDs including syphilis, AIDS, cervical cancer, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, according to Bloomberg, citing an official announcement by Thailand's National Health Security Office (NHSO).

In 2021, Syphilis and gonorrhea accounted for more than half of all sexually transmitted diseases in Thailand, which has seen a surge in both infections over the years.

According to official data, the age groups most at risk of contracting an STD were those aged 15 to 19 and 20 to 24.

Out of every 1,000 Thai girls between 15 and 19, as many as 24.4 individuals gave birth in 2021. To put that into perspective, the World Health Organization reported a global rate of 42.5 in the same year.