Freedom To Be Safe: Preventing HIV/AIDS

David Mgeladzé
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Comments: 8
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Goals

Problem statement:

The latest newsletter from the Georgian Center of Aids (Aidscenter.ge) reports that although Georgia currently has a low prevalence of HIV/AIDS , there will be a rapid spread of the disease unless urgent measures are taken. The statistics speak even louder, as the overall increase in the number of infections from 2014 to 2015 was 37%, and the results are even more horrifying for the male gay community – a 162% increase.

There is no sex education and a shame culture around buying condoms, which is the main reasons driving the projected HIV and AIDS statistics. Condoms are only available over the counter in the pharmacies or supermarkets, and those who buy them are judged, especially women.

This campaign - Freedom to be Safe! would make condoms available to everyone in Georgia. Every individual has an equal choice to protect himself/herself, and live a happy and healthy life!

Proposed Solution:

The idea is very simple – I have an agreement with some of Georgia’s biggest night clubs, fast food chains and petrol stations to install condom dispensers in their toilets.

Condom distribution programs are globally established cost-effective interventions that provide citizens with the resources they need to prevent the spread of different STDs (incl. HIV). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, making condoms commonly available is an integral part in the fight of HIV prevention.

Increasing condom availability directly supports raising the usage among a wide range of population, including youth, commercial sex workers, and those who engage in risky sexual activities.

By combating the problem of shame and guilt experienced while purchasing condoms, we hope to prevent the growth of HIV infections. would like to solve the issue with the already well-established practice of installing Condom Dispensing Machines in the toilets of public places in Tbilisi. The condoms will be available as a single unit and with a limited price mark up, making it way less affordable for the end user.

The dispensing machines themselves will not be branded, rather the surface will be leveraged to educate the masses about safe sex, STD prevention and related topics. Each dispenser will also convey a message about being a non-profit, community project, so that risks of vandalism and damage are reduced.

Sustainability:

The project is developed to be self-sustainable after the initial funding is achieved. Here is a brief explanation how this will be managed:

- The initial funding will be invested in purchasing the condom dispensers and condoms.

- Once the dispensers are installed and the condoms start retailing, the generated income will cover future costs.

Therefore, unless some unforeseen circumstances occur, the project should sustain itself for many years.

Equal gender opportunity:

The project itself aims to make condoms accessible for anybody no mater of their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class etc. The choice, where to place dispensing machines, is intended to take into consideration:

Gender: an equal number of male and female facilities will be chosen. Given the option, our first choice will always be the spot that has no gender restriction.

HIV/AIDS: we will specifically target the areas in Tbilisi where sex workers are known to be located. This will ensure a higher success rate in the fight to prevent HIV.

Class: compared to the shops, the condom will be cheaper because they can be bought individually. We will also minimize the mark-up, furhter reducing the price. Our target price is 50 Tetri/unit.

Items Needed

Item აღწერა Vendor Info Total Purchased?
Condom Dispensing Machine (Condovender CX1W – Mini vending machine unit condom)

A perfect, compact mini vending machine for exterior/interior. The coiner has a manually operated mechanical precision available for different types of currencies and prices. This machine dispenses condoms in individual cases, enabling to sell single unit condoms.
Offers the possibility of customisation (stickers or handpainting).

SAS Vending

Calle Amillaga 1 – 5,
20570 BERGARA (Gipuzkoa)
Spain

+34943769874
363,00 ₾
Condom Dispensing Machine (Condovender CX1W – Mini vending machine unit condom)

A perfect, compact mini vending machine for exterior/interior. The coiner has a manually operated mechanical precision available for different types of currencies and prices. This machine dispenses condoms in individual cases, enabling to sell single unit condoms.
Offers the possibility of customisation (stickers or handpainting).

SAS Vending

Calle Amillaga 1 – 5,
20570 BERGARA (Gipuzkoa)
Spain

+34943769874
363,00 ₾
Condom Dispensing Machine (Condovender CX1W – Mini vending machine unit condom)

A perfect, compact mini vending machine for exterior/interior. The coiner has a manually operated mechanical precision available for different types of currencies and prices. This machine dispenses condoms in individual cases, enabling to sell single unit condoms.
Offers the possibility of customisation (stickers or handpainting).

SAS Vending

Calle Amillaga 1 – 5,
20570 BERGARA (Gipuzkoa)
Spain

+34943769874
363,00 ₾

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Comments

David Mgeladzé Here are the illustrations of the dispensers, as well as how it looks in real print.
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David Mgeladzé Here are the stickers for the condoms.
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David Mgeladzé Here are the stickers that can go on any surface, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, walls etc.
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Keti Khachidze So how is it going on? Are stickers ready yet? What about the condom dispensers?
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Keti Khachidze So how is it going on? Are stickers ready yet? What about the condom dispensers?
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ermgeladze@gmail.com Hello, hello! On top of this, we decided to collaborate with a youth project allaboutyou.ge, and co-develop a set or stickers with them. The stickers will have a content related to sexual health, sexual education, raising awareness about getting tested etc. We will have 3 types of stickers, 1 of which will be placed on 1 condom box. As this is a quite time consuming job (we will need to prepare 1800 condom boxes), we are collecting a group of volunteers to help us with this task. Each volunteer will receive a half an hour training on sexual health and benefits of safe sex, making them ambassadors of the Freedom to Be Safe campaign, so that they continue educating and raising awareness in their own communities.
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Sopo Vashalomidze Hi all! It's been a long time since we posted any update for our project. Just to give you an idea where we stand: - DISPENSER: at this point, a condom dispenser has been already constructed by our new supplier www.microvending.com . It has been already tested with the Georgian Tetri coins, as well as with the condom boxes we will be using, and the results are positive 🙂 - CONDOMS: the biggest struggle was to find a supplier that could provide us with the pouches/boxes with only 1 condom inside (most of the suppliers have only a box with 3 condoms, making it very expensive for the end-user, to buy which we did not want to do, Our objective is to have it as cheap as possible). But now we have a Spanish manufacturer that will directly send the condoms to Microvending, who will send the dispenser and the condom boxes together to our attention (this will help us to drastically cut the costs, as transportation from the EU countries to Tbilisi costs a lot!). Timing: - The condoms will be available by the end of March. - Micovending will send dispensers and condoms by 7th of April. - During the weekend of 31st of March we will have a workshop dedicated to the design of the dispenser surface. The workshop will involve 2 graphic design students and the Freedom To Be Safe project team. Will keep you posted!
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David Mgeladzé As I'm not 100% sure about the limitation of the budget, I just submitted the request for 3 dispensers (without transportation cost). Obviously the number of dispensers can be adjusted, based on the available funds for this particular project.
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