25 Apr 2018

Serowe District Health Management Team head, Dr Nahanson Kombe has decried the low uptake of female condoms in the Sub-district.

The concern arouse Friday during the District Multi-Sectoral AIDS Committee (DMSAC) meeting in Serowe. 

“The number of male condoms distributed this quarter is 34 674. Uptake of female condoms is still very low as only 2 379 condoms were distributed. The total number of female condoms in stock this quarter is 3 040,” he said.Dr Kombe said the community still rejected the female condom thus leading to low distribution. He said last year there was inadequate supply of male condoms from the Central Medical Stores from October to mid-March in the Central District resulting in the critical shortage in the months of January to March. He said during the time, the health education department promoted and encouraged the public to use female condoms as they were in abundance. “Male condoms are now available but the reception of the female condom has been satisfactory through the attended health sessions and promotion activities. More emphasis will be placed in promoting the female condom,” he said. Dr Kombe said for this quarter, they received 141 314 male condoms at the hospital, clinics and health promotion department, adding that so far 34 674 had been distributed.

“We have received only 2 800 female condoms and so far 2 376 have been distributed this quarter,” he said. Dr Kombe also said the sub district was experiencing shortage of human resource such as medical officers and nurses. He said they lost 18 out of 37 patients who were in anti-retroviral therapy, adding that 19 were still being followed up. “A team has been formed to monitor and evaluate progress regarding patients lost to follow ups, as the number of initiation has increased to 240 compared to 190 in the third quarter,” he said. To address the issue, Dr Kombe said they would continue lobbying for human resource and intensifying follow ups of clients.

Dr Kombe said 637 pregnancies were registered for antenatal care out of which 85 were teenagers with seven aged below 16. He noted that teenage pregnancy had increased from 12.9 to 13.3 per cent. Dr Kombe said there was a shortage of staff trained in youth friendly service to assist in moulding teenagers. 

On a positive note, Dr Kombe said they achieved 100 per cent on the uptake of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), and that the testing rate for eligible registered clients also stood at 100 per cent. However, he said the partner testing rate in the sub district was low at 24.1 per cent. African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) official, Ms Tebogo Babi said they had a high level partnership and collaboration growth in the sub district.BOPA