Imposing tax on condoms big blow to war on HIV

The recently introduced tax regime by the government has seen price adjustments on various basic commodities, both food and non-food items. Condoms are among commodities likely to suffer an upward price adjustment.

It is naive to debate where condoms belong in the hierarchy of commodity importance. We cannot, for example, equate the effects of higher priced condoms to those of higher priced milk or maize flour. Lack of condoms is arguably less painful than lack of kerosene or cooking gas. The latter has a direct and visible negative impact.