Female condoms attract $28M bid

Dec 10, 2010 News

…Health Ministry looking to secure 29,000 units

The Ministry of Health will soon be making more female condoms available for use in Guyana as the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board on Tuesday last received and opened bids for the supply and delivery of the items;
There were two bids submitted:

Tab: 1

When asked yesterday about the amount of condoms that his Ministry was looking to source, Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy informed this newspaper that it was some 29,000 units.
Dr Ramsammy at a press briefing disclosed that the condom purchase was for 2011, adding that they distribute overall more than three million (3,000,000) condoms each year to the various entities associated with the Ministry of Health.
“We use condoms for two reasons…one to protect against sexually transmitted infections…we also use it in family planning.”
Dr Ramsammy explained that they introduced female condoms on a small scale some five years ago, sourcing between 1,000 and 5,000.
He conceded that the female condoms in some cases cost as much as five times higher than the male condoms, and as such, one of the problems is that they are unable to provide universal access to all women.
Given the price constraint, Dr Ramsammy said that it is not intended for use by every woman, but rather in cases where a woman does not have a cooperative partner and that they want to protect themselves.
He did stress that the ideal situation was for the male to be the one using the condom given that it offers a significantly higher level of protection.
“The Health Ministry is not in a position to guarantee access to all women who want…it is to serve the population at-risk and whose partner is not agreeable.”
He said that even at the Cabinet level, the figure spent on condoms each year is surprising to some, adding that each year the Ministry spends between $30M and $50M for both male and female condoms
“How much are we willing to spend?” questioned Dr Ramsammy whilst pointing out that with grants they have been able to secure enough. He said that they estimate that the use of female condoms in Guyana will be in excess of 500,000 per year and it is a costly exercise.
He did specify that it was not a case of 500, 000 persons using the condoms but rather the number of times they will be used.
Ramsammy emphasized that it is an enormous investment on the part of the Ministry and that is why he gets upset when he sees persons wasting condoms
Meanwhile bids were also opened for the supply and delivery of Sexually Transmitted Infection Drugs for the Ministry of Health.
The bids for this project are: