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Date : 14/06/2004
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: M Tshabalala-Msimang: Launch of Choice condoms


STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR MANTO TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE CHOICE CONDOMS, Benoni, 14 June 2004

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I feel greatly honoured to be with you here today to launch our newly branded public sector condom "choice(tm)".

Living in the 21st century is all about choices - choice of cell phones, choice of a variety of TV and radio stations, choices of different branded foods - it is about discovering, experimenting, changing and making informed choices.

I am proud of the new name for the public sector condom - "choice(tm)". The word "choice" allows for options, it allows for a selection. It says that you are in charge or in control of the choices that are being made. It also links closely with the Khomanani Youth Campaign slogan that says: "It is our time, our choice, our future".

What better time to talk about this than today, a day before we celebrate Youth Day, on 16 June.

We need to inform the youth of our country that they have the opportunity - and the choice - to develop to adulthood, determine their future and play an important role in realisation of a better society.

The slogan for our condom is: "no choice(tm), no play". This slogan was tested amongst young people between the ages of 18 and 30 and their response was that it is punchy, fun, funky, straightforward - all the characteristics of today's hip and happening youth. Significantly, though, the youth with whom we spoke also stressed that the name "Choice" gives them another message - the one that calls for responsibility towards themselves and their peers.

You may ask why we have decided to launch a brand name and repackage our silver and "red ribbon" condoms into a modern blue and yellow package with the name "choice(tm)" - prominently displayed on the front. There are three main reasons that I want to share with you:

* There is a widespread public perception that government condoms are of inferior quality compared to commercial brands that you buy in shops or pharmacies. This perception emanated from the fact that prior to 1998, there was no effective quality assurance programme in place to ensure high quality. Since then, the quality standard of our condoms has been set by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

We are proud that these condoms are among the best in the world. All production batches of government condoms are compliance tested, regardless of which factory produces them. This is done in accordance with the most stringent World Health Organisation and National Department of Health standards, and specifications set by the SABS.

* Secondly, best practice and lessons learnt from market research in condom social marketing and commercial sector in general suggest that people must identify with a brand name for a product to be successfully marketed and utilised. In other words, to maximise condom use, the product must have a brand name and a clear identity.

* Thirdly, research also told us that the packaging of old government condoms was seen to be far less attractive or user-friendly than those of the commercial brands. This means a new territory for our government - to enter into the world of consumer brands in order to fulfil one of its most important objectives - to increase and speed up the impact of prevention strategies against Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV.

You can appreciate the significance of these three reasons. Drawing on our research, we realised that we needed to change the way we market government condoms to maximise their impact.

I am proud to say that in 2003, the Department of Health procured more than 300 million male latex condoms for free distribution through the public health system. This is the largest condom procurement programme that is fully funded government in Africa.

Many people might ask if this is the end of the government's ABC campaign. Definitely not! To me the issue is about "choices" - people, especially young people, must abstain from sex - it is good and safe to wait!

This weekend, I had an opportunity to march with young people of KwaZulu-Natal who are walking 250 kilometres (from Durban to Ladysmith) to encourage their peers to abstain from sex.

We are going to continue to encourage people to be faithful when they are in a relationship. However, we know that there are those who cannot abstain or remain faithful to one partner. We are today encouraging them to use a condom consistently and correctly.

These messages are very important as we celebrate Youth Day with a theme: "Youth celebrating a decade of freedom and seizing the opportunity of democracy". As we know, with freedom comes responsibility. We would therefore like to tell the sexually active youth of South Africa that we are launching a newly branded product to give them a greater choice for an increased responsibility.

Condoms are one of the few sex-related products that are perceived not to be sexy. They are not part of the playfulness that is generally associated with an enjoyable sexual experience. In fact, condoms are often seen as being downright intrusive. We therefore have a challenge to change these perceptions. Condoms should not only be a necessity but they should be seen as sexy and part of fun.

So we need to say to our partner: "no choice(tm), no play".

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Health
14 June 2004

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