Femidom struggles to gain popularity

Not knowing how to use a female condom and price differences between female and male condoms have resulted in fewer female condoms than male condoms being distributed in the Erongo Region.

In an interview with Nampa last week, the project administrator of the ‘Strengthening of the Erongo Regional Programme for the Control of HIV-AIDS’, Oscar Medina, said approximately 90 000 male condoms – compared to 22 000 female condoms (femidoms) – had been distributed in Erongo between September and January. He said although condoms were dispensed freely at hospitals and other places, a male condom (six in a pack) cost N$1,50 while a female condom (one per pack) cost N$8.Medina said there was still a need to educate people – especially women – on how to use the female condom.He expressed concern about commercial sex workers in the region and the country in general.Medina said the project would concentrate on getting information to commercial sex workers in the region as well as those at Oshikango Border Post in the North.Educational plays would also be performed to make it easier for people to drive home the reality of HIV-AIDS.”We had a chance to meet eight girls from the Namibian side of the border and they complained of truck drivers not wanting to use condoms,” he said.He added that it seemed that female sex workers had some basic knowledge about HIV-AIDS but did not know how to explain it to their male clients.Medina said they had also trained 50 young people – especially volunteers from those areas but also 25 unemployed youths – in HIV-AIDS home-based care .Despite successes in training, Medina said, many people later moved to other places in search of jobs after having been trained.For this reason, project managers were trying to motivate volunteers – who were usually unemployed – by providing bicycles for long distance travel, T-shirts, caps and other incentives.He said although condoms were dispensed freely at hospitals and other places, a male condom (six in a pack) cost N$1,50 while a female condom (one per pack) cost N$8. Medina said there was still a need to educate people – especially women – on how to use the female condom. He expressed concern about commercial sex workers in the region and the country in general. Medina said the project would concentrate on getting information to commercial sex workers in the region as well as those at Oshikango Border Post in the North. Educational plays would also be performed to make it easier for people to drive home the reality of HIV-AIDS. “We had a chance to meet eight girls from the Namibian side of the border and they complained of truck drivers not wanting to use condoms,” he said. He added that it seemed that female sex workers had some basic knowledge about HIV-AIDS but did not know how to explain it to their male clients. Medina said they had also trained 50 young people – especially volunteers from those areas but also 25 unemployed youths – in HIV-AIDS home-based care . Despite successes in training, Medina said, many people later moved to other places in search of jobs after having been trained. For this reason, project managers were trying to motivate volunteers – who were usually unemployed – by providing bicycles for long distance travel, T-shirts, caps and other incentives.