As Aids Rate Rises, Brazil Ignores Condoms

While most Brazilians know how to avoid the lethal AIDS virus, they continue risky sex practices, said a recently released study.

Eighty percent of the 16,451 people interviewed said they were aware that condoms helped prevent AIDS, but only 14 percent of the males and 4 percent of the females said they used them, according to the National Study for Demographics and Health.

“The study shows that providing information is not enough to change behavior,” psychologist Rita Badiani told the Jornal do Brasil newspaper.

Next to the United States, Brazil has the highest number of AIDS cases in the hemisphere. Unofficial estimates put the number of cases at 500,000.