British charities concerned with sexual health are warning English fans attending the World Cup in South Africa about risky sexual behavior.
According to Avert, an AIDS charity based in Horsham, West Sussex, an estimated 5.7 million people were living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa in 2009 - more than in any other country.
In addition, the London-based Terrence Higgins Trust, another charity, surveyed 454 British 18- to 34-year-olds and found that one in ten admitted drinking so much alcohol at sporting events that they could not remember what they did afterward. Jason Warriner, the trust's clinical director, said, "We are urging people to take condoms with them - have fun but look after yourself."
Earlier this year, the United Kingdom gave South Africa money to buy condoms as the nation prepared for the World Cup and the influx of some 450,000 international visitors.
The UK's All Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS, HIVsport, which works to raise awareness of sexual health during sporting events, and the Foreign Office have launched a website called "Keep a Clean Sheet." It warns that large sporting events often lead to a rise in STD cases.
There are fears that prostitution, which is illegal in South Africa, will increase during the World Cup, with sex workers coming to the country from elsewhere in the world.
A member of the women's sector of the South African National AIDS Council, Marlise Richter, dismissed those fears, citing advance work to promote safe sex.
06/09/10
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS and HIV Warning to South Africa World Cup Fans
Source: BBC News(06.07.10):: Katie Dawson; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention