African Alliance speaks to the Eastern Cape manager of condoms, whose job it is to get condoms to clinics and hospitals. With its beautiful rolling hills and remote areas, this job is harder than it is in cities, where populations are dense and easier to reach.
This article is part of an African Alliance series celebrating 25 years of the inner condom in South Africa and the people who helped to establish the world’s biggest state-funded inner condom project.
Gloria Dudu Jopi’s job is to procure, order and deliver condoms for the Eastern Cape. She’s a health promotion practitioner by profession, and in the past worked for the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District. Part of this job meant she had to distribute condoms and educate people on how to use them. Now, she’s the Condom and Key Population Manager for the Department of Health in the province.
“The condom program is my priority, we take it very seriously,” Jopi says.
“It is very important because it is the answer to all STIs and unintended pregnancies because it covers the whole genitalia so it provides wider coverage,” she explains.
Importantly, it has to be used correctly to make sure it prevents pregnancy or infections. So, people should make sure it is inserted correctly.
The ring in the closed end of the condom should be squeezed to form a tip and inserted into the vagina or anus.. One can adjust the outside of the condom so it is spread evenly around the anus or vulva.
It also gives women power and control over their sexual life, she adds.
“It is beneficial for men who have sex with men, because it is very soft and strong.”
Jopi believes that with proper marketing and education, there will be an increase in the use of the inner condom, and as a consequence, a reduction in unintended pregnancies and STIs/STDs.
The Eastern Cape continues to be the poorest province in South Africa; many young people, mineworkers, and labourers come to major cities in South Africa in search of work and have done so for generations.
Roughly 38% of the South African population lives in rural areas, but healthcare facilities are concentrated in urban areas.
With its beautiful rolling hills, some places in the Eastern Cape are hard to reach. Hospitals and clinics are often far away from where people live.
To counteract the issue of remote and rural populations in the Eastern Cape, Jopi says she has managed to acquire condom container storages that are nearer to the harder-to-reach areas.
Do you live in the rural Eastern Cape? Have you accessed inner condoms via one of these containers? Let us know! Get in touch with us on X and Instagram. We’re at @Afri_Alliance on both platforms.