Brazil's Ministry of Health on Tuesday pledged to continue plans to install condom vending machines in schools nationwide as part of the country's HIV prevention efforts, Reuters/Washington Post reports. The health ministry recently launched a contest for technical schools to design an improved condom vending machine and will award the winning team with $25,000. Trial vending machines might be installed in schools as early as 2008, and the health ministry aims to install the machines in bars, clubs and 24-hour gas stations. In addition, a survey recently released by UNESCO found two-thirds of parents responded that they approve of the government offering teenagers increased access to no-cost condoms and sex education. The survey was conducted among 135 schools that participate in the condom distribution efforts, as well as a smaller number of nonparticipating schools, in about half of Brazil's states. It found that 45% of students ages 13 to 19 responded that they had active sex lives and that 60% to 70% reported using condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections. About 10% of students said that they have had sex without a condom because they could not afford one, and 42% of students responded that they did not have a condom available (Reuters/Washington Post, 2/7).