Concern as Jinja health unit runs out of condoms
Mr Kakaire Robert displays the remaining box of condoms at Bugembe Health Centre IV on Tuesday. PHOTO / TAUSI NAKATO.
Bugembe Health Centre IV in Northern Division, Jinja City, has run out of condoms, putting thousands of residents at risk of contracting HIV/Aids, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancies.
According to the authorities, the facility has not had condom supplies for close to three months.
Mr Alex Waiswa, a youth in Nakanyonyi Village, Northern Division, on Tuesday said he had given up checking for condoms at the facility.
“I am tired of coming to the facility and finding empty condom dispensers yet I don’t have money to buy from drug shops,’’ he said, adding that he is now at risk of acquiring diseases from having unprotected sex.
“We (youth) have a mentality that condoms are for free and if they are not there, the only alternative is to have unprotected sex, especially at this time when, because of the Covid-19 lockdown, we are neither at school and not working,’’ Mr Waiswa added.
Ms Phoebe Naigaga, another youth, said teenage pregnancies are likely to increase in the area because of scarcity of condoms at the facility.
Sex worker worried
Ms Joan Naigaga (not real names), a sex worker who has been receiving free condoms at the facility, said for the last three months, her life has been at a higher risk due to scarcity of the protective rubbers.
Mr Robert Kakaire, the officer-in-charge of condom distribution at the health centre, admitted the lack of condoms since July yet they are on high demand.
According to Mr Kakaire, they have been supplying condoms to bars, restaurants, youth, sex workers and mothers who come for family planning services.
“This is likely to cause a setback in our efforts to prevent HIV/Aids in the area, especially Bugembe because it is a hotspot for sex workers being on the Jinja-Iganga highway and highly populated,’’ he said.
The officer-in-charge of the health centre, Mr Wilson Mwanja, said he has to consult the chairperson of the board of governors before commenting on the issue.
What leaders say
The Jinja City drug inspector, Mr Daniel Isabirye, said the hospital administrator had ordered for a few condoms from the National Medical Stores (NMS) yet the population in the area is very big.
“They received small quantities from NMS but we can get condoms from other facilities which have big stocks, to bridge the gap as they wait for the next supply, which is coming very soon,’’ he said.
The interim Northern Division mayor, Mr Steven Wante, said they will ensure the facility gets condoms because they are very essential in preventing HIV/Aids in such a highly populated area.
Efforts to get a comment from the NMS spokesperson, Mr Dan Kimosho, were futile by press time.
Mr Andrew Okullo Awanya, a programmes coordinator at Restless Development, a non-government organisation, said they have started equipping the youth with service delivery monitoring skills to ensure that duty bearers address such challenges of condom stock outs.
