According to the ministry, this will "be the largest purchase of condoms in world history." Last year, Brazil's Health Ministry bought 406 million condoms.
Brazil has a population of around 190 million, many of them devout Catholics, and is the largest country in Latin America.
The first batch of condoms will be delivered in February and passed on to government health institutions and educational facilities in the largest cities throughout the country. The condoms are to be distributed free of charge. Some of the condoms will be made available in tourist areas during the annual Carnival in February, the country's version of Mardi Gras.
According to UN figures, there are over 33 million AIDS-infected people in the world with 1.6 million in Latin America, half of them in Brazil. Mexico is a distant second, with 200,000 AIDS-infected people reported among its population of 108 million.
Figures for the number of AIDS-infected people in Russia range from 350,000 to more than 1 million.
