KZN gets first condom manufacturing plant
The plant is a first for the province and only the second in the country.
KZN Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo recently launched the province’s new multi-million rand condom manufacturing plant and hailed it as a significant step in government’s quest to reduce the spread of HIV infections in the province.
The new condom factory will be situated at the Dube Trade Port’s Special Economic Zone, next to King Shaka International Airport.
It is a first for the province and only the second in the country.
This was done with aim to distribute at least 212 million free condoms each financial year in a bid to curb the spread of HIV/Aids infections.
When the plant is fully functional, the new factory will produce no fewer than 700 000 condoms per day, some of which will be exported to other African states.
The launch of the new factory condom comes just months after national Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced that South Africa will soon get its own facility, Ketlaphela, which will start producing anti-retroviral drugs in 2019.
Speaking after a visit to the new condom factory site, Dhlomo said expressed his excitement over the new plant.
‘In every intervention that we put in place to improve public health outcomes, KZN must lead and be ahead.
Therefore, the presence of this plant will go a long way to assist our programmes and prevent illnesses from spreading,’
Dhlomo also called upon condom manufacturers to consider lowering the price of female condoms, which is currently 10 times more expensive.
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