Dr Mutumba Robert who heads the AIDS Control Programme in the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that there is declining use with some sections attributing this to fears that the condoms are not of good quality.
Almost half
of the two hundred and thirty million condoms procured for free access by
Ugandans go unused annually and yet the country is recording a high and growing
number of people contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Dr Mutumba
Robert who heads the AIDS Control Programme in the Ministry of Health (MoH)
revealed that there is declining use with some sections attributing this to
fears that the condoms are not of good quality.
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While there
are various condom brands on the market that are for sale, the free condoms are
procured by a donor organization Global Fund and statistics show only one
hundred and seventy million condoms were consumed last year. Currently in
stock, Mutumba reveals there are about 90 ninety million which are estimated to
last about five months, but officials say uptake is low.
According to
Boniface Epoku, the Program Officer, Condom Programming in the Ministry, the
easy access to emergency contraceptives by young people is only pushing the
number of condom users lower as many are more concerned about pregnancy than
HIV or sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia that can have
disastrous effects on fertility.
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He adds that free
condoms have been hit by a misconception of low quality which is why the government
is now partnering with private sellers through a social marketing approach to
ensure that users can buy the products at affordable prices.
At the
meeting which was held ahead of the International Condom Day marked every
February 13th, the ministry launched yet another Indian condom brand
called Kama Sutra saying that for a pack of three, Ugandans will be parting
with only one thousand five hundred shillings.
Martha Mbabazi
Atai, an HIV Prevention coordinator at an NGO AHF – Uganda Cares says there are
instances where there have been stock out of condoms.
She says in
some places due to in availability of free condoms, the organization has had to
procure some to complement the government noting that they always procure about six
million condoms annually.
For her,
such stockouts shouldn’t arise for an approach that reduces HIV acquisition by
up to 95 percent.
