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Leather Condom Pouch Now Standard Military Issue in Eritrea ASMARA, Eritrea — Standard issue equipment belts worn by soldiers in Eritrea include hand grenades, ammunition cases, canteens, and now, a leather condom pouch. PSI/Eritrea, locally recognized as the Eritrean Social Marketing Group (ESMG), successfully launched the new product on March 10, distributing the pouches to a command team of 40 men who arrived in full military gear, including weapons and ammo. The event took place on the roof of an unoccupied building with large military tents and equipment as a backdrop. Speeches were presented by both ESMG and military staff followed by the distribution of pouches to each soldier. "HIV has penetrated the country and must be battled. You carry guns and bombs to protect your country. You must also carry condoms," Colonel Yemani of the Eritrean Ministry of Defense Health Sector told the division. Kidane M. Girmay, project director of ESMG, also gave a short speech on the importance of consistent condom use. The troops then removed their combat gear and assisted each other in attaching the new piece of equipment to their uniforms. The presentations were followed by cold soft drinks for everyone while the troops modeled the new condom pouches on their equipment belts and posed for pictures in high spirits. The men in the division enjoyed the novelty of adding a new item to their standard equipment. Other divisions have already expressed interest in receiving the condom pouch as well. An initial 10,000 condom pouches will be distributed over the next two months, with an additional 20,000 scheduled to be produced and distributed by June 2003 through funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. Embossed with the bright yellow dolphin, the Abusalama logo, the locally-produced leather condom pouch holds a standard four-pack of PSI's Abusalama condoms, sold everywhere in Eritrea. Both men and women in the military will be required to wear the condom pouch, which provides an eye-catching flash of color on the equipment belts. The distribution of the condom pouch follows ESMG's massive HIV/AIDS awareness-raising campaign over the past year with the entire Eritrean Defense Force. The military, as one of several high-risk groups in Eritrea, ranks second highest in HIV prevalence, after commercial sex workers. Pre-and-post testing will accompany distribution in order to assess behavior change amongst the military in terms of condom use. With automatic access to the condom as part of the regulation military uniform, condom use is expected to increase. "The new pouch will not only increase accessibility of condoms
within the military, but will also promote the acceptance of condoms
in Eritrea, where most youth between 18-24 years old are now in uniform.
It is also a great way to ensure a steady supply of Abusalama condoms
to the military." says Rob Maroni, PSI country representative.
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