Zimpapers Logo

Dr David Parirenyatwa

Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
More than140 million condoms were distributed in Zimbabwe in 2017 but the uptake of the female condom remains low due to misconceptions.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa recently said condoms are a key component of the country’s HIV prevention programme.

“A total of 111 million public sector condoms were distributed in 2017 for free as they were found in most health institutions. In the social marketing sector a total of 25 million Protector Plus condoms including the flavoured ones were also distributed during the past year,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

The Minister said the high figures are only a reflection of distribution patterns and do not translate to actual use of condoms.

He said of the total number of condoms distributed, only five million were female condoms.

“Iam sure you can clearly see the difference in the distribution figures. We really need to understand the challenges regarding low demand for  the female condom that we were so excited about during its launch,” he said.

Most Zimbabwean women claim that they prefer the male condom as the female version comes with a lot of challenges which include discomfort, allergic reactions. Some however say that men prefer to initiate sex and would rather be the ones that wear condoms.

Dr Parirenyatwa said female and male condoms are also key in preventing unwanted pregnancies and other sexually transmitted diseases.

“We still acknowledge that there are some population groups that still find it difficult to negotiate condom use and I would like to remind those that we have a number of HIV prevention options. We have medical male circumcision, pre-exposure prophylaxis and all these services are easily accessible from our health centres,” he said.

Dr Parirenyatwa said condom use remains low in key populations. “As a ministry together with our partners we have introduced the Condomise Campaigns that aim to destigmatise condom use and improve access across different communities,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

Zimbabwe’s HIV prevalence rate is 13,7 percent and the country through its prevention programmes has averted 1,7 million Aids related deaths since 1999. — @thamamoe