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A United States-based company has good news for Ugandan women. Zebra
Foundation is planning to set up a factory in Uganda that will manufacture
panty condoms. Dr. Alex Kamugisha, the State Minister for Primary
Health Care, announced at a news conference earlier this week.
Kamugisha said the panty condom (to be worn like knickers) would empower
women to safeguard their sexual rights and added,"There is no
doubt that women in this country will welcome this news because it
will help them to reduce/interrupt transmission of HIV tremendously.
He said that in the fight against HIV/AIDS women had to rely on men
wearing condoms but "if they (women) get their own, that is empowerment."
Female condoms went on sale in Uganda in the early 1990s but women
shunned them because they were not user-friendly. A brand called Femidom
is still sold in pharmacies in Kampala but only a handful of women
have used it.
Kathleen Kempter Martin, the President of Zebra Foundation, said the
"new revolutionary" female condom is made of latex, the
same material used to make a male condom.
She said, "Latex stretches - it fits the vagina well. The panty
condom has a pouch that is inserted into the vagina before the sexual
act."
She added that the second phase of the study to establish the usability
of the condom is to be done in Uganda.
Wil P. Stevens, an advisor for Zebra Foundation, said the panty condom's
sensitivity is as good as wearing a male condom or even better.
"Once a woman wears it, then it is not necessary for a man to
wear a condom," he added.
Just like the male condom, the panty condom will be worn once and
discarded.
It is hoped that the cost of the new condom will be lower than that
of a male condom.
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