Uganda Female Condom-Distribution Program Halted Over Complaints That Condoms Were Not User Friendly, Official Says
A Ugandan program that distributes female condoms has been halted until further research is conducted because many women complained about the condoms, James Kigozi, spokesperson for the Uganda AIDS Commission, said on Thursday, Uganda's Monitor reports.
The AIDS commission had been conducting a trial of female condom use in the country. Kigozi -- speaking to journalists at the National AIDS Research Stakeholders' Workshop in Kampala, Uganda -- said that the commission was "forced to halt their distribution because the women who were using them said they were not user friendly." He added that the women "said their husbands used to complain that they make a lot of noise during sexual intercourse and that they are smelly."
According to the Monitor, many women have said the condoms were painful and difficult to insert in the vagina prior to sexual intercourse. In addition, Kigozi said that empowerment among women also affected use of the condoms because men often instructed their partners to remove the condoms after they had been inserted.
The condoms were being distributed to prevent transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as to prevent unintended pregnancies, the Monitor reports. The commission has asked condom manufacturers to ensure that newer versions of the condom are easy to use before introducing them in Uganda, Kigozi said (Nafula, Monitor, 6/2).