Planned Parenthood preps 5,000 safer-sex kits, with condoms, for KC World Cup fans
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- Planned Parenthood Great Plains is preparing 5,000 safer-sex kits for World Cup fans.
- Volunteers filled boxes with latex and non-latex condoms, lubricant and dental dams.
- First kits will be distributed at KC PrideFest and then offered free to World Cup.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains is preparing 5,000 safer-sex kits for soccer fans coming to FIFA World Cup matches in Kansas City.
Volunteers have filled small cardboard boxes with condoms — latex and non-latex — lubricant and dental dams, used for protection during oral sex.
The work continued Thursday as volunteers gathered at Our Spot KC, a resource center that supports the LGBTQ+ community. The first kits will be distributed at KC PrideFest on Friday before they are made available free of charge to World Cup visitors.
Public health officials in Kansas City and other host cities plan to monitor a long list of health concerns during World Cup events, and sexually transmitted infections are one of them.
Last week the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an alert asking health care providers there to be mindful that mass gatherings can elevate the risk of infectious diseases spreading, because people will be in close contact.
It listed respiratory viral illnesses, including COVID-19 and influenza A, measles and STIs, among things to watch.
In Toronto, which will also host matches, soccer-themed condoms will be distributed to fans at select public health clinics. The wrappers have soccer-themed puns, like “what a finish” and “block those shots.”
Free condoms are always available from the clinics run by public health departments in the Kansas City area.
Jackson County’s health department placed free condoms in a new Bluebox vending machine in downtown Lee’s Summit that dispenses free health supplies, including fentanyl test strips and first aid kits.
During STI Awareness Week in April, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment used social media to remind people that free condoms are available in the lobbies of its clinics in Olathe and Mission during office hours.
“Seeking safer, more worry-free sex? Condoms could be your answer! They can protect against #STIs and unplanned pregnancy, they’re easy to access and there are many types – different sizes, textures and flavors – to choose from,” the department wrote on its Facebook page.
Metro Planned Parenthood health centers make condoms available free of charge, too. No need to talk to a receptionist, no questions asked.
When FIFA announced that matches would be held in Kansas City, local Planned Parenthood staff began brainstorming ways to up its usual game of providing health care to support the thousands of fans expected here.
“There’s been ample discussion and preparation about things that we could do to help the community and what our level of involvement needs to be or should be,” during World Cup, said Dr. Iman Alsaden, a gynecologist and Planned Parenthood Great Plains chief medical officer.
“We have tried to make our staff and people that work with us ready for perhaps a larger influx of walk-in appointments, a large influx maybe or larger booking of teleheatlh appointments.”
Alsaden said the items in the kits are things Planned Parenthood already makes available to the public, but packaging them specifically for World Cup is unique.
She said “a lot of people power went into the (safer-sex) boxes, so I’m hopeful that the community will find them very useful.”
Local health officials who have spent more than a year-and-a-half preparing to keep thousands of World Cup fans healthy and safe have identified the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases among potential problems.
STIs “are like any sort of communicable disease that we might see,” said Ray Dlugolecki, assistant director of the Jackson County Public Health Department.
“So if you’re considering ... very joyous events where people are coming from all around the world and interacting and having fun, STIs are no different, they spread differently.
“So for us, STIs are another thing that we have to monitor as part of this event. And unlike some of the things that might spread during this event, there’s been a lot of evidence based on what’s happened at other World Cups, Olympic events, any time large numbers of people are congregating.
“STIs tend to rise after those events have occurred ... so this is going to be something that we’re monitoring during the tournament.
“We’ll be asking people to practice safe sex and use precautions, but we’ll also be monitoring after the tournament to encourage people to get tested and to follow up with anything that might be spreading as it pertains to STIs. So that’s a very real thing that we are watching.”
Behind Dlugolecki’s concern is ongoing frustration with STI rates in Jackson County. “Unfortunately here in Jackson County we actually have a major problem with STIs, even outside the scope of this particular tournament,” he said.
Though STI rates in the county have declined “over the last few years ... Jackson County has historically been a county where STIs have been much, much higher than what we see at the state level,” he said.
“And there’s a whole host of different factors for that. But one of those aspects is prevention. Are we adequately providing access to testing resources, to prevention resources, so that we’re limiting that transmission overall?
“There have been, unfortunately, limitations and cuts over the last few years where we haven’t been able to investigate the full number of STIs in Jackson County like we should be able to.
“We haven’t been able to provide adequate low-cost testing to everyone who needs it to interrupt that cycle like we should be able to. Those are all conscious choices that we make as a society that allow things to persist or exist.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in three travelers will have sex with a new partner while they’re traveling.
“The excitement of being in another country and meeting new people may lead travelers to engage in risky behaviors that can lead to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, gonorrhea chlamydia, and syphilis,” the CDC says on its website.
“STIs may occur without any signs or symptoms, so you may not realize that you or a partner is infected. While most STIs are treatable — some can cause serious health problems if left untreated.
“Not having sex or having sex with one uninfected partner are the most reliable ways to avoid getting and spreading STIs. However, if you have sex with new partners during your trip, take steps to protect yourself and your partners.”
The CDC encourages travelers from other countries to use condoms from the United States, “because those in other countries may not be up to U.S. quality standards.”
At least American condom company is already in the game.
In May, ONE Condoms, the company working with Toronto to distribute free condoms, introduced limited-edition World Cup condom cases decorated with the flags of the 14 top qualifying teams.
The tagline, intended to get fans talking about safe sex, asks: “Are you scoring safely?”
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