More Germans Have Unprotected Sex, Report Says

An increasing number of young Germans are having unprotected sex despite figures showing that the use of condoms has helped stop thousands of cases of HIV, according to a report released Thursday. The "Prevention Works" report, published by the federal health information center, said that 78 percent of young people who had sex with more than one partner in 2003 used condoms compared to 83 percent in 2001. The report said that the government's "Don't Give AIDS A Chance" program had helped avert some 25,000 cases of HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, since 1987. It added that the prevention efforts had led to annual health savings of €450 million ($541 million). According to statistics from the Robert Koch health institute from 2002, some 65,000 people have contracted HIV in Germany since it surfaced in the 1980s, 22,000 of whom have died. (AFP)