Condoms to be tested in Kenya, Tanzania

In a move to ensure that condoms coming into the country are of good quality, testing of imported consignments has been shifted to Tanzania and Kenya. Recently a condom brand ‘Hot’ was tested and found to be leaking. Kenya immediately banned the faulty brand. The East African coastal nation said it had acquired a new condom testing machine, in a move meant to boost public confidence in condom use. The Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) yesterday confirmed that the Kenyan machine is being relied on to guarantee that condom shipments to Rwanda are of high quality. “We don’t have the machines but we have exchanged information, we contacted the Kenyan Bureau of Standards and the Tanzanian Bureau of Standards to allow us to use their equipment,” said Jane Nyamvumba, RBS’s head of quality assurance. The RBS official also noted that plans are underway for the country to acquire its own condom testing machine. The National AIDS Control Commission (CNLS) recently announced that in December it will embark on a three-month national condom use awareness campaign that will involve introduction of condom-dispensing machines in most work places. Ends