Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 2:41 PM
Subject: Condom row in South Africa


> There have been complaints in South Africa over
> condoms being imported from India and China, in
> particular over their size.
> A national survey of prostitutes has revealed that
> South African men had problems using the standard-size
> condoms, complaining they were too small.
> But Dr Liz Floyd, director of the Aids programme in
> Gauteng Province, told the BBC that she thought it was
> unlikely that there was any substance to the
> complaint.
>
> "We are quite sure the condoms can accommodate them.
> You can get a condom over your head if you want to."
>
> More than half of the women interviewed for the survey
> also complained that condoms imported from the Far
> East burst easily and exposed them to risks of
> catching HIV/Aids.
>
> Storage
>
> But Dr Floyd said any problems with the strength and
> reliability of condoms were more likely to be
> connected to how they are used and how they are
> stored.
>
> She said that if condoms were not kept in direct
> sunlight then they should be up to the job.
>
> There have been complaints in the past about the poor
> quality of imported condoms, which reportedly led to
> more than four million being sent back a few years
> ago.
>
>
> The South African Government has long campaigned to
> promote the condom, which is an unpopular method of
> protection, but is seen as a cheap and effective way
> of preventing the spread of the HIV virus.
>
> But Dr Floyd said training was vital to ensuring that
> complaints about condoms did not undermine people's
> confidence in them and serve as a justification for
> people who do not want to use them.
>
> South Africa has a huge problem with Aids, with 1,500
> people infected with the HIV virus every day.
>
> An estimated 200 million condoms are used a year in a
> country of 40 million people.
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
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