Zimbabwe is yet to receive guidelines for testing female condoms, leaving outside organisations to carry out the task.
Regulatory body Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) said it only dealt with male condoms because the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) was yet to provide specific standards for production. ISO is a global body which ensures products and services meet minimum standards of safety, reliability and good quality.
Locally, the Standards Association of Zimbabwe, an ISO member, ensures producers of goods meet global standards.
MCAZ director-general Gugu Mahlangu told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Welfare this week that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was monitoring the production of female condoms.
“We have not started testing female condoms and currently WHO is monitoring the manufacturing of the female condoms and it is in charge of the distribution. ISO has not set standards for the testing of female condoms,” Mahlangu said.
The MPs were on a familiarisation tour of MCAZ offices in Harare. MDC MP Fani Munengami chairs the committee.
Health experts say increased condom use by Zimbabweans is largely responsible for the reduction of the HIV prevalence rate in the country. The country’s HIV prevalence among adults between the ages of 15 to 49 was under 15% in 2011, from 18% in 2006.
However, the three provinces in Matabeleland region; Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South have the highest HIV prevalence compared to other provinces. The three provinces have an average of 21% prevalence rate compared to a national average of about 13%.
MCAZ uses the random sample testing method to ensure condoms meet the World Health Organisation standards and from each batch, 1,800 condoms are tested daily.
The WHO guidelines include tests which establish bursting volume and pressure, and detect holes and other visible defects. Examples of the tests used by condom manufacturers include the ‘water leak test’, which exposes any holes in a condom, and the ‘air burst test’ or ‘tensile test’, which show whether a condom is likely to burst during use.
