Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - September 1, 2002
Bobby Jordan
The device, contained inside a normal condom packet, consists of two small plastic tabs with a condom suspended in between.
It could mean an end to fumbling condom interruptions in the heat of the moment - still the most quoted reason for continued low condom usage in South Africa.
The bright idea has earned Cape Town-based inventor Willem van Rensburg a coveted South African Bureau of Standards design award, presented at a ceremony in Johannesburg on Friday.
Explained Van Rensburg: "You bend the condom pack backwards - that causes the pack to snap open in the middle - the condom rolls on automatically.
"The reason why it works is because it has a little plastic curved surface that grips onto the condom and causes the condom to roll down," he said.
He said that after extensive field trials, the device had received an overwhelming thumbs up.
Van Rensburg said that his own market research indicated that men simply found conventional condom usage too much of a hassle and were prepared to chance their luck. He believes that the applicator device will offer a viable alternative. Van Rensburg will go on an international road show later this year to introduce the applicator to major global condom manufacturers.
Funded by the Metropolitan Group, the device could have an impact on the HIV/Aids pandemic by increasing condom usage, said the head of Metropolitan's Aids Research Unit, Stephen Kramer.
"If we can help de-stigmatise condom use and make the overall experience less cumbersome then we'll have made significant progress," said Kramer.
Approximately 360 million condoms are distributed free of charge annually in South Africa, with a further 40 million bought over the counter.
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