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/ India News / 2007 / July 2007 / July 26, 2007 Condoms used as balloons in Madhya Pradesh |
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Many claims are made by the Governments, both at the Centre and the States about distribution of condoms in their campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS and for population control. But the fact is that villagers are unaware how to use them.
By Ashok Pal
Dabra (Madhya Pradesh), July 26 : Many claims are made by the Governments, both at the Centre and the States about distribution of condoms in their campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS and for population control. But the fact is that villagers are unaware how to use them.
The condoms are being used for everything but physical intercourse in some villages. . The health workers are shy to discuss how and why the condoms are used because of social taboo.
Burjag and Lakshman Garh of the Dabra block in Madhya Pradesh's Murena district re just two instances where condoms distributed free by the health workers, are mostly used by children as balloons.
Even adults use them as waterproof material. In some houses this correspondents saw the condoms being used to plug holes in roofs to prevent the seepage of water.
The visiting teams of volunteers representing NGOs and government officials seldom explain how and why the condoms are used. They distributed the condom packets and go away.
Ramsharan, a villager, said: "A few women and men come here every four to six months and give us this (condom), No one explains about it. We do not know what it is. They hand over at least a dozen pieces to each villager and leave. We give these packets to kids to play using them as balloons....How else could it be used?"
Under the National Health Policy of India, Anganwadi and Community Health Care (CHC) workers are supposed to distribute the condoms in rural parts of country and explain their use to the villagers.
According to statistics, at least 891 million condoms have been handed out free in rural parts of the country.
According to the UN-backed government estimates, the number of people living with IV/Aids in the country stands around half of previous official estimates at between 2-3.1 million people.
Previous estimates from the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) put the number of HIV cases at 5.2 million, while UNAids in 2006 estimated 5.7 million cases.
ANI
