More than a quarter of 170 million condoms sold in Vietnam each year are of substandard quality, the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported on April 2, citing a survey by the British company Crown Agents. Up to 26% of the amount failed to meet international standards and technical requirements of the World Health Organization and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the survey showed at a meeting held last week. Crown Agents Technical Director David Whybrew said at the workshop that a maximum of 5% of substandard condoms was common for international tests. “To identify such a high level of failure is considered very serious.”
UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Arthur Erken said that 170 million condoms were imported and distributed via wholesalers and retailers, primarily in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where no quality control mechanism are in place. “Using low-quality condoms will cause serious consequences including unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV,” Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said.
Vietnam authorities find out 34 people infected with HIV a day, the VnExpress reported, citing the health ministry. Currently, Vietnam reports more than 213,000 HIV-infected people and 65,000 deaths so far. (Vietnam News April 2 p5, http://vnexpress.net [1])
