Distribution of Lorato condoms to be discontinued

Sharon Mathala | Wednesday June 3, 2015 14:51

National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) coordinator Grace Muzila said this yesterday when briefing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). She confirmed that her office had received many complaints about the contraceptive sheath.  “Since we are aware of the public concerns, we are acting accordingly. Some people have no problem with Lorato condoms but most say that they are of poor quality,” she said.

The NACA boss noted that there have been several assessments conducted on the condoms and they have passed the technical test. She however said that the condoms are still on the shelves but government has put measures in place to provide a better replacement.

Muzila was responding to an inquiry from Selebi-Phikwe West MP and PAC member Dithapelo Keorapetse, who had quizzed her why the condoms were still on the market if government had received and acknowledged complaints against the condoms.

“We cannot stop immediately, there are a lot of things to consider like which condom will replace the Lorato condoms, but we are working on it,” she said. Meanwhile, Muzila said that her department had sent a 2.3M US$ grant proposal to the Global Fund after realising that many NGOs in Botswana were on the brink of shutting down.

“Major donors had closed shop here because they felt that the economic status of Botswana, which has been classified as middle income, had improved.

This means that those NGOs, which were surviving from the donors are battling to keep their head above the water,” she explained. Muzila added that last week, the Global fund had sent them a response seeking clarification on several issues, and would revert to NACA within a few months.