Inter Press Service - November 15, 2002
Rosemary Nalisa

A Namibian-owned firm, Commodity Exchange, says it aims to make the condoms available at an affordable price.

Sabina Maritz, the director of the company, says Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia have indicated interests to buy condoms directly from Commodity Exchange. But, she says the firm, which began operating on Nov 7, will first work towards satisfying the local market before starting marketing the product outside the southern African country.

"We are fully committed towards ensuring consistent quality in our condoms. Our mature production techniques and stringent quality control procedures, not only help contribute towards making our products to meet international standards, but surpassing them as well," says Maritz.

Health workers say the only way to protect people from contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is through condom use. The debate about the use of condom is a very sensitive one, especially in traditional African societies where cultural values and norms prevent open discussion about sexual issues.

In Namibia, for example, talking about sexuality or sexual intercourse is taboo. Parents do not discuss it with their children; teachers do not teach students about it; religious leaders do not talk about it to their congregations; and wives and husbands do not discuss it.

The company, based in the capital Windhoek, is the third in Africa. The other two are based in South Africa. The Commodity Exchange opened its offices in Namibia in 1994 as a sales outlet for South African condom manufacturers.

Currently the factory sells condoms at 12 U.S. cents for a packet of three, but the firm's management expects the price to fluctuate due to foreign exchange rates, as most of the raw material is imported from overseas. Other condom brands available at pharmacies cost between one and two U.S. dollars. Cheaper brands, which are mostly from South Africa, cost about 30 U.S. cents in shops, bars and recreation clubs.

Apart from manufacturing condoms, the factory is also involved in the distribution of latex surgical gloves used by doctors and nurses in wards and operating theatres to protect them from contracting diseases after being exposed to blood and touching patients who might have infectious diseases.

Family members looking after patients also sometimes use surgical gloves to protect their hands from coming into contact with germs from diseases affecting the patients.

The company will produce 15 million condoms and gloves annually. Its management says the condoms are produced in line with the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), while the techniques used in manufacturing them are from Malaysia.

The condoms undergo rigorous testing, using an electronic machine with high voltage, to determine the possibility of leakage. The plant has an International Standard Quality Control and Assurance Laboratory to monitor the quality of the products and ensure production of high-quality products.

An inflation test is also being conducted on the condoms to determine the degree of deterioration for condoms that have been in storage. Samples of condoms are placed on air tubes and secured, then air is inflated into the condoms. Measuring the bursting volume and the pressure determines its overall strength. The company also does a water leakage test on the condoms, whereby they are filled with water for one minute, while the condom wall is being inspected for leakage. The condoms, being manufactured, are 180 millimetres in length.

A package Seal Machine is used for packaging designed to meet the standard requirements of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Maritz says the plant will be a major boost to Namibia's response to HIV/AIDS and will compliment the government's goal to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS to below epidemic level. (The ministry of health regards the infection rate of 22 percent, out of a population of 1.8 million, as an epidemic.) Health authorities feel that the HIV prevalence needs to be brought down to a manageable level of about 10 percent, to prevent Namibia from having to deal with a high-mortality rate.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Libertine Amathila, says the establishment of a condom factory in Namibia is a milestone in the country's response to HIV/AIDS. She says it is a sense of pride to note that Namibia is only the second country in Africa, after South Africa, to have a condom factory.

"The objective of the Namibian government is to increase accessibility, affordability, availability and use of both male and female condoms countrywide," says Amathila.

She says the government plans to target high-risk groups such as the youth, women, the police and the army to reduce the level of HIV/AIDS transmission. "Carefully planned and targeted behavioural change programmes will be provided to re-enforce information given on HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention as well as the consistent use of condoms," says Amathila.

The last Demographic Health Survey carried in Namibia in 2000, shows that consistent use of either male or female condoms among women between the ages of 15 and 49, was 8.9 percent.

Health authorities say the figure is too low compared to the number of people infected with HIV in Namibia and the extensive campaigns that are being carried out on condom use and their ability to prevent sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.

Namibia is rated among the Sub-Saharan African countries with the highest HIV/AIDS infections. It has 230,000 HIV-positive people out of a population of 1.8 million, while more than 30,000 died last year alone from AIDS-related diseases. Life expectancy in Namibia also has dropped from 60 years in 1991 to 42 in 2002.

The ministry of health and non-governmental organisation distribute around 20 million male condoms per year. The number will be increased by 30 percent in future with the availability of condoms from the new company.

There are already 20 condom brands in the country to give people a wider choice. But Amathila says, while it is good to have a variety of condom brands, it can also create confusion among the users.

As part of the global initiative to scale up intervention that could prevent new HIV infections, Namibia is involved in broad strategies such as mass media campaigns, public sector condom promotion, distribution and marketing.

Other strategies include voluntary counselling and testing, prevention of parent-to-child transmission, school based and out of school youth programmes, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and peer counselling for commercial sex workers.

Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the worst affected region in the world. The estimated 3.4 million new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2001 mean that 28.1 million Africans now live with the virus, according to UNAIDS.

The UN agency estimated that 2.3 million Africans died of AIDS in 2001.(END/IPS/AF/HE/RN/MN/02)

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