Over 30 million condoms imported annually

Bars and nightclubs and several hangout joints across the country will soon have condom vending machines in the washrooms and different spots as part of national efforts to combat HIV/Aids.

A sample of the machine was shown to members of the parliamentary forum for people’s advocacy on how it functions. The demonstration was done by Population Service International (PSI-Rwanda)

"Our goal is to make condoms widely available to people. The programme will start in the next two months from Kigali before it is scaled up to various upcountry regions,” Igor Murara, Senior Project Manager of PSI Rwanda said.

He said a campaign to promote awareness of the new machines has already kicked off and that in the next two months, the machines will be installed in four main bars of Kigali as a pilot project.

"In the four pilot hot spots, we will install two machines in the washrooms, on the ladies and the other in the gents,” said Murara.

"Bars and nightclubs are high-risk areas for unsafe sex,” Murara said. "It is for that reason we chose them as priority areas in our project.”

PSI has imported 30 state-of-the-art vending machines that will be used in the pilot phase and according to Murara, they have plans to import the machines in the hundreds of thousands.

To acquire a packet of condoms from the machine, a person will be required three coins of Rwf100 each meaning a packet costs Rwf300. 

The vending machines will be part of the condom normalisation campaign and will use no electricity.

Current statistics indicate that Rwanda imports about 30 million condoms annually, both by the private and public sectors.

Speaking at the introduction of the machine at the parliamentary building, the deputy Speaker of Parliament Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo said that he is going to be at the forefront of a campaign to install the machines.

"Every Rwandan should be educated on condom use so as to have a society free from HIV/Aids,” said Ntawukuriryayo, who is also the immediate former Minister of Health.

"Buying a condom shouldn’t be a shame to anyone,” he said. The Kimihurura-based parliament is expected to be one of the areas where the condom vending machines will be installed.

Meanwhile, PSI-Rwanda has also introduced a new brand of condoms that will be distributed through the new vending machines.

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