Nirodh, India’s fabled male contraceptive device before it was upstaged by sleeker private sector alternatives, will be making a comeback to the state’s AIDS hospices from Dec.1, World AIDS Day.
Supply of Nirodh Deluxe condoms had ceased at the beginning of this year as the result of ‘technical glitches’ within the National Aids Control Organisat ion (NACO).
But now, said Nityananda Das, the AIDS watchdog’s social marketing manager in AP, the supply contract has been restored to the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) and stocks will be back in place at government hospitals, markets, Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs), Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) centers and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Services.
NACO is planning to supply 1 crore Nirodh deluxes in the coming year. The condoms used to be supplied to AIDS high-risk groups at a subsidised cost of Rs 3.
But with the supply lines running dry, the groups had to turn to private manufacturers, whose wares cost up to Rs 90 per packet.
Although the Nirodh has a reputation as a PSU condom, it was quite in demand and was a major component of the state’s anti-AIDS strategy.