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Where are the condoms?

10 March 2010

One of the common sights in public places like hospitals, basic health units (BHU), out­reach clinics, gewog offices and hotels is the distinctive daechong or condom boxes placed in prominent loca­tions. What is common ev­erywhere is also that these aptly named ‘blissful utility’ boxes remain empty most of the time everywhere. Some are gathering dust and some are used to contain books and pens.

It is not that the empty boxes are not replenished frequently but that they are emptied the moment they are filled, apparently to be misused for other purposes, according to health officials. They say that even hospitals and BHUs struggle to keep the boxes filled all the time.

“Few hours after filling the boxes at the hospital, they get emptied,” said Rinchen Phuntsho, the Assistant Clini­cal Officer at Pemagatshel Hospital. “If we struggle to keep them filled all the time in hospital, the boxes in oth­er places must be remaining empty most of the time.”

“The situation is the same everywhere. I find daechong boxes empty everywhere. Perhaps they get emptied the moment they are filled,” said an official on tour from Thim­phu.

However, the boxes re­maining empty do not mean that condoms are not avail­able for those in need. “Apart from the boxes placed at stra­tegic locations and health centres, condoms are widely available for those in need. Pemagatshel alone has 58 vil­lage health workers (VHWs) who maintain a stock of con­doms all the time. In addi­tion, some non-formal educa­tion instructors also maintain a condom stock and provide them to people,” said Dzong­khag Health Officer, Gopal.

“There are possibilities of condoms being misused on looms as was widely known but the declining sexually transmitted infections (STI) cases indicates that people are using condoms. The 11 gewogs of Pemagatshel re­ported only 20 cases of STIs in the last quarter,” said the DHO.

“Another reason why we feel that vulnerable people are using condoms is that, during the last blood screen­ing of truck drivers, none tested positive for STIs,” said Karchung, the ADHO of Pemagatshel Hospital.

Despite condom boxes re­maining empty, STI cases and condom distribution records reveal that people are indeed using condoms, according to health officials.

By Gembo Namgyal

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