SUDAN: Still difficult to access condoms - health expert

Delegates attending Sudan's recent International Conference of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) were reminded that 1.6 percent of the country's population were living with HIV/AIDS.

The figure is low by sub-Saharan standards, but the Sudanese minister of health, Ahmed Albalal, said he was keen to reduce it by 2005.

While the government seemed optimistic, a local health expert said even encouraging the practice of safe sex through condom use, as a means of reducing the country's rate of new infections, was extremely complicated.

Consultant gynaecologist and general surgeon Dr Abdel Hasi Ibrahim said in a statement that the obstacles to condom access in Sudan were almost insurmountable.

Pharmacists stocked condoms, he said, but they were kept under the counter and only dispensed to men who appeared "married".

"Asking for a condom is like asking for a bomb," Ibrahim added.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews, Children,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]