Namibia Starts Condom Factory
Dec 09, 2002
WITH HIV/AIDS infection rates rising faster in Namibia, the government has set up a condom factory to ensure that there is enough supply of condoms in the country.
WITH HIV/AIDS infection rates rising faster in Namibia, the government has set up a condom factory to ensure that there is enough supply of condoms in the country.
“Because of the commitment of the government and seriousness of the epidemic, we don’t want to have a condom blackout or cheap condoms being dumped here,†said Abner Axel Xougub, manager of Namibia’s National AIDS Control Programme.
Xougub was addressing journalists who were attending a workshop on HIV/AIDS reporting in Eastern and Southern Africa.
It is estimated that out of Namibia’s population of 1.7 million people, 200,000 are living with HIV/AIDS. This means that one in every nine people has the virus.
The condom factory in Namibia produces three different brands of condoms.
The factory with a capacity of producing up to two million condoms a month, was opened up on November 7, this year.
Namibia is the second country to manufacture condoms in Africa, after South Africa, which has condom factories in Johannesburg and Durban.
Xougub said that with time, Namibia expects to export the condoms to other parts of Africa.
Xougub is also positive that the condoms are already having an impact because there has been a reduction in the number of people reporting with sexually transmitted infections.
“We have seen a decrease in the urinary tract infections. Fewer men are now reporting with gonorrhea and the number of women reporting with syphilis has also gone down,†he said.
Ends
“Because of the commitment of the government and seriousness of the epidemic, we don’t want to have a condom blackout or cheap condoms being dumped here,†said Abner Axel Xougub, manager of Namibia’s National AIDS Control Programme.
Xougub was addressing journalists who were attending a workshop on HIV/AIDS reporting in Eastern and Southern Africa.
It is estimated that out of Namibia’s population of 1.7 million people, 200,000 are living with HIV/AIDS. This means that one in every nine people has the virus.
The condom factory in Namibia produces three different brands of condoms.
The factory with a capacity of producing up to two million condoms a month, was opened up on November 7, this year.
Namibia is the second country to manufacture condoms in Africa, after South Africa, which has condom factories in Johannesburg and Durban.
Xougub said that with time, Namibia expects to export the condoms to other parts of Africa.
Xougub is also positive that the condoms are already having an impact because there has been a reduction in the number of people reporting with sexually transmitted infections.
“We have seen a decrease in the urinary tract infections. Fewer men are now reporting with gonorrhea and the number of women reporting with syphilis has also gone down,†he said.
Ends