State to distribute over 21m condoms

Mbeya. The government plans to distribute over 21 million condoms free of charge across the country to reduce new HIV infections.

The acting Director General of the Aids Control Programme at the ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, the Elderly and Children, Eddah Katikiro, said this on Thursday in Mbeya, during a preparatory meeting for the launch of a condom distribution exercise to be held on Friday.

She emphasised that the condoms would be distributed freely at selected locations to the public. “The condoms will be distributed at the offices of village executives, bars, hotels and any at health facilities,’’ she said.

The ministry’s information officer, Shoko Subira, said the programme was being implemented following the government’s strategy of controlling new HIV/Aids infections, with the aim of halting new infections by 2030.

Subira said the condoms given by the government have been branded Zana ya Ukweli, meaning ‘tool of reality’ are expected to be launched by health minister Ummy Mwalimu.

 The medical equipment registration officer at the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), Goodluck Botola, said the authority has confirmed the quality of the condoms.

Mbeya Region’s Aids Control Programme co-ordinator Francis Phiri, said the region had received 1.5 million condoms.