Pretoria - Local soccer stars are to be used in a massive safe sex campaign launched by the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The department is to approach the soccer stars and the South African Professional Football Union to get involved in a drive to reach as many people as possible about HIV and AIDS during the World Cup and beyond.
"The department said that the abuse of alcohol and drugs were contributing factors to unsafe sex practices and the province took an initiative to undertake a campaign to highlight these issues.
The entertainment industry will also be targeted with closer focus on bars, clubs, hotels, fan parks as well as park-and-ride facilities," the department said.
This decision was taken during a meeting with members of the mayoral committee responsible for heath, social development and emergency medical care on Tuesday.
The meeting noted the province's readiness to implement the new HIV and AIDS treatment protocol in April this year as well the installation of scanners at airports and the establishment of a response team to deal with any outbreak of diseases such as H1N1 and others during the World Cup.
