Kathmandu, November 3:

Nepal marked the 13th Condom Day with the slogan of ‘Proper use of condoms for dual protection’ to create awareness on condom use among the general public.

People from different walks of life participated in a rally taken out from Sundhara that went through major thoroughfares of the city and converged into a mass meeting at the open-air theatre.

Addressing the gathering, Dev Ratna Dhakhwa, the secretary general of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said, “A condom is not only a birth spacing tool but also protects from sexually transmitted diseases.”

Dr Bishwaraj Khanal, the acting director of the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC), said the use of condom is the only way to prevent AIDS infection during intercourse. He said many migrant workers are found to have been infected with STDs, including AIDS. “We want to reach out to the migrant male population with the message of duel protection from condoms,” he said.

KV Rayamajhi, the managing director of the Nepal Contraceptive Retail Sales (CRS) Company, said people are still reluctant to use condoms even as the awareness among them has been found to be considerably high. President of NGO Network Against AIDS Hari Awasthi said the government should make condoms easily available in the remote areas.

Nimesh Regmi, president of Health Journalists Association Nepal (HEJAN), said the media can play a vital role in creating positive attitude among the people on the use of condoms. The programme was followed by a folk duet song competition. Nepal has been celebrating the first Saturday after Dashain festival as the ‘Condom Day’ since 1995.