Condoms shortage hits Kisumu County

Kisumu County has a shortage of Condoms. According to Civil Society Organizations in Kisumu county and county government officials whose names I won’t disclose for fear of losing their jobs, Kisumu public health facilities are not equipped with enough free government condoms.

Sex workers, higher learning institutions and young people have been hit hardest by this shortage. Majority of Kisumu population rely on the free government condoms more so young people between the ages of 15 to 24 years. With the high rates of poverty in the region, majority of the population cannot afford to buy condoms from the store, shops, chemist or supermarkets on a daily basis because they are too expensive. Those who cannot access these condoms are now engaging in unprotected sex making them vulnerable to HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections. Others have been forced to recycle condoms just to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.