Condoms are in such short supply in Kenya that some sex workers are forced to wash and reuse them or risk exposure to sexually transmitted infections.
The Kenyan government is expected to be able to provide 150 million condoms to citizens, but requirements are forecasted to be at least 262 million for the July 2022 to June 2023 financial year, Samuel Kinyanjui, the country program director of AIDS Healthcare Foundation Kenya (AHF Kenya) said in a statement on November 28.
Condoms are too expensive—at $1 for three condoms—for many citizens to buy regularly, especially those working in the sex industry, so many rely on the condoms that are usually distributed for free by the government. These condoms are donated by several organizations, including the Global Fund and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), but since the government has increased import taxes, many have stopped providing the contraceptives, according to the BBC World Service.
"The county (Busia) is experiencing an acute shortage of condoms which is not a Busia problem alone. It's a national problem. This is a donor-funded commodity based on a global fund. At the moment, donor funding has dwindled," Janerose Ambuchi, the director of medical services in the western Busia County, told local news K24TV.
"UNFPA continues to support the government of Kenya in procuring Family Planning commodities, including condoms. In 2021, UNFPA procured and delivered over 22 million pieces of male condoms; and there is a consignment of nearly 7 million pieces in the pipeline—to be delivered before the end of 2022," UNFPA Kenya reproductive health advisor, Dan Okoro, told Newsweek.
The shortage has led sex workers in Busia County, as well as in the nearby counties of Kisumu, Bungoma and Kakamega, to wash out and reuse condoms on clients, local news K24TV reported in October.
"We have close to 2,000 sex workers across the Ugandan and Kenyan borders, and with the flourishing sex trade, we are worried about being hit by a surge in infections," Amosiah Ongatai, the manager of Youth Environment Service, a non-governmental organization involved in HIV/AIDs prevention and counseling, told Ugandan news site The Monitor.
Washing condoms can damage the latex and make them more prone to tearing during another use, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns. Washing may not remove all traces of bodily fluids from the condom, facilitating the spread of infections like chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV, and even unwanted pregnancies.
Kenya records about 34,000 new HIV infections annually, with the country seeing an increase in infections among sex workers since 2020, according to the BBC World Service. Around 1.4 million people in Kenya had HIV in 2020, roughly 4.2 percent of the adult population. That same year, 19,000 people died of AIDS-related complications in Kenya.
Okoro also said that unwanted pregnancies were a major concern in terms of the condom shortage.
"Unintended, mistimed, or unwanted pregnancies may result in unsafe abortion, which is among the leading causes of maternal deaths. Therefore, it is imperative to sustain the supply of life-saving family planning commodities, including condoms, to meet the increasing demand, as managing the repercussions of not using condoms—male or female—can have significant human and societal consequences."
Busia County has since received a shipment of condoms to combat the shortage, and the UNFPA is working to restore the supply chain.
"UNFPA is also supporting the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) to strengthen its supply chain through the development of an early warning alert system and integrated Logistics management information systems (LMIS), which when fully implemented can help avert stock-outs and shortages such as what was experienced in Busia County. The county government of Busia has confirmed to UNFPA that a supply of male condoms has been received from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) to deal with any shortage that may have been experienced effectively," Okoro said.
However, many areas across the country may still be experiencing shortages, leading to fears that the progress made by Kenya in reducing HIV cases will be reversed.
"Kenya risks rolling back the gains made in fighting HIV/AIDs if the issue of condom shortage in the country is not addressed," said Kinyanjui, AHF country program director.
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Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. ... Read more
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