On Wednesday, the Stop Aids Now! organisation will cover the Munt tower in central Amsterdam in a 35-meter long condom ahead of World AIDS Day on Thursday.

Actors from the youth television series SpangaS will roll down the condom which symbolises the importance of HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Afterward, they will hand out autographed condoms and red AIDS ribbons to passers-by.

The ancient Munt tower is the surviving part of one of the gates to mediaeval Amsterdam and was subsequently the site of a mint, from which it gets its name. The condom will stay on until Thursday night.

The national campaign Education Saves Lives will continue until 6 December. Bus shelters across the nation will feature posters of young Africans with captions such as: Ayanna does not know how to prevent AIDS but you do.

Stop Aids Now! will also run infomercials on radio and television to focus attention on the fight against HIV/AIDS.

(gsh/imm)

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