ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Military helicopters flew over
Ethiopia's capital on Friday, dropping leaflets encouraging
residents to practice safe sex as the country marked World AIDS
Day.
The leaflets urged people to abstain from sex before marriage
and be faithful to their spouses to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS
in a country where more than 10 percent of the adult population
is already infected.
"It is our responsibility to protect our families, ourselves
and our lovers from such a killer disease," the leaflet said.
"Marriage has to be one-on-one."
It also encouraged people to use condoms if they have sex with
anyone other than their husband or wife.
About 3 million Ethiopians are HIV positive, including 150,000
children. The infection rate in the country's adult population
is about 10.6 percent but that rises to an estimated 17 percent
in the capital Addis Ababa.
Thousands of students held hands in the capital at noon on
Friday, observing a minute's silence to remember the victims of
AIDS.
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