As it does every year for Carnival, Ipas Bolivia organized a series of prevention, information and awareness-raising activities on sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) in several Bolivian departments. These activities are carried out strategically in order to counteract the increase in cases of sexual violence, unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that affect Bolivian society and are on the rise for this holiday.

The Ipas Bolivia team's actions began on Wednesday 23 February with the donation of 10,000 condoms to the Bolivian Police General Command as part of the "No protection, no fun" campaign so that police officers can distribute them at major entrances and festivals across the country.

Police Commander General Jhonny Aguilera acknowledged the importance of donations to prevent unwanted pregnancies, STIs, HIV-AIDS, etc., and expressed his willingness to continue joining forces with Ipas to prevent these social problems, both through donations and training for police personnel.

On the other hand, the activities planned by Ipas's Community Access area began on Thursday 24 at the Comadres celebration in Tarija. The department's Active Masculinities Networks and the Prevention Unit of the Municipal Government's Women's Secretariat met in the Luis de Fuentes square and from there they moved around the city handing out information material and condoms.

On Friday 25th, as we entered the carnival weekend, the actions moved to Sucre, also with the department's Masculinities Networks. The leaders worked together with SLIM, the Gender Department and the "Zebras in Action" project. They went around the city handing out information material and condoms and ended with a training on DSDR in the Plaza 25 de Mayo.

During Carnival Saturday, Sunday and Monday, community agents from the municipalities of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Yapacaní, Alto Beni, Alcoche, Caranavi and El Alto were organised and deployed throughout their municipalities with games, fairs, championships and many other activities aimed at orienting, providing information and distributing condoms for the same purpose: avoiding unplanned pregnancies and STIs and preventing sexual violence with information on the critical route for reporting and offering support for this type of problem.

In general, Ipas's activities had a good impact and reach within the action points, reaching young people and, above all, making the importance of these issues visible on such an important, festive and often uncontrolled date as the Bolivian carnival. In this sense, the constant work of Ipas Bolivia is very important to prevent and combat these problems that always afflict our country.

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