{UAH} Condom demand outstrips supply in Uganda

Condom demand outstrips supply in Uganda
Publish Date: Sep 12, 2014

newvision

By Joanita Tushabe and Francis Kagolo

A new report by the Uganda AIDS Commission has revealed that the supply of condoms falls 45% short of the country's need.

On the other hand, the report shows that people's willingness to use condoms has also declined.

The major driver of new HIV infections around the country remains multi-partner sexual relationships; a behavioral trend Chairperson to the Uganda AIDS Commission Prof. Vinand Nantulya says has been on the "upswing" since 2006.

The report reviewing the National HIV &AIDS Strategic Plan for 2011/12 – 2014/15 was released on Thursday at the 7th national joint annual AIDS review conference at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.

The data was collected over the last two years of Uganda's renewed preventive and treatment strategy implementation.

"The number of condoms supplied is 55% of the national need. We need to procure more condoms to achieve further success against HIV," said Dr. Joseph Matovu of the Uganda AIDS Commission.

Condom use is one of the important HIV prevention devices available for sexually active adults.

Consistent condom use helps to reduce the risk of HIV infection by over 80%. Recent evidence suggests that the use of a condom at sexual debut by young people predicts the possibility of future use of condoms in adulthood.

But the report states that Condom use declined from 46.7% to 29.4% among females engaged in higher risk sex and from 53.2% to 37.9% among males between 2006 and 2011.

It was discovered that while numbers of new HIV infections had declined from 162,294 in 2011 to 140,908 last year, the figures were still far from the target of 71,510.

Nantulya attributed new HIV cases to "complacent messages from the first-phase of the disease" which in current times failed to promote protected sex especially among the youth.

The report furthered this claim stating "national surveys in 2006 and 2011 suggested a decline in condom us.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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