The Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has asked the government to implement policies aimed at making condoms more affordable and accessible.
AHF recommended this as part of efforts to mitigate the rise in number of new HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) infections among the youth.
Moreover, the National Aids Control Council (NACC) statistics state that adolescents and youth aged 29 years and below constitute 61 per cent of all new HIV infections in the country.
AHF Country Director Dr. Samuel Kinyanjui while speaking during a series of AIDS advocacy events organized by the NGO in Nairobi, Thika, Kisii and Kilifi noted that it will be cheaper for the government to invest in making condoms more affordable as opposed to providing treatment for persons living with HIV/AIDS.
In addition, Kinyanjui said the total direct yearly expenditure by the government in procuring HIV/AIDS medication for one patient stands at Ksh. 25,000. He compared this with Ksh. 1,200 needed to make condoms more accessible to one person every year.
The AHF county director further criticized the high taxes on condom procurements, including a 16% VAT, affecting the price of available condoms in the country.
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“Currently condoms in Kenya are being taxed because they are categorized as a medical device. We are urging the policymakers and regulators to categorize condoms as a medical supply so that they can be tax-free,” he said.
Nonetheless, the Government, in a recent statement, noted that was procuring 150 million pieces of condoms.
However, the procurement falls far short of an estimated demand of 262 million for the July 2022 to June 2023 financial year.
As such there is an existing gap of about 112 million condoms, which translates to a budgetary hole of about Ksh.38 million, at a unit cost of approximately Ksh.3.4 per one.
