Tanzania risk increased sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies as a shortfall of condoms is witnessed across the country.
Tanzania’s deputy Health Minister Faustine Ndugulile said the government was aware that Njombe and Shinyala regions have been affected.
The two regions have a combined population of more than two million people according to a 2012 study.
Dr Ndugulile, who was speaking at an orphanage in Dar es Salaam on February 19, said the shortage was caused by the government’s new procurement policy.
He said in the new policy, the government has undertaken to provide free condoms by cutting off private suppliers.
“It is true that there is shortage of condoms, which is attributed to the change of supplying system…However, this signifies that the Tanzanian population are educated enough to use protection,” Mr Ndugulile he added.
About 1.4 million people in Tanzania are living with HIV, accounting for 4.7 percent of the adult population, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Tanzania has cut its new infection rate by more than half since the early 2000s, but it remains among sub-Saharan Africa’s most challenged states – and condom use and availability remain a key concern. Less than half of all adults reported using condoms during their last high-risk encounter.
A group of 70 condom manufacturers, international donors, and NGOs have committed to increase the number of condoms in low- and middle-income countries to 20 billion by 2020, the meeting report said.
Tanzania is not included in the start-up countries, which are South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Botswana.