South Africa Recalls Over One Million Defective Condoms Distributed As Part Of ANC Celebrations

The South African government has long been accused of mixed efforts in combating AIDS despite the country having one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. Now the government is accused of handing out more than a million free condoms at the African National Congress centenary celebrations that are defective and leak.

Public interest groups showed reporters how, when filled with water, the condoms notably leak. Some witnesses said that the condoms will burst.

All of the 1.35 million condoms bear the South African Bureau of Standards stamp are were distributed in guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and bars.

The government has recalled the condoms but has not confirmed that they are defective.

This of course would make for an interesting torts lawsuit if it were allowed in South Africa against the government or the ANC. Just five years ago, 20 million condoms were recalled as defective in South Africa. The difficulty in such legal actions is factual causation. In a country with one of the highest rates of infection, the question is the cause of the exposure — particularly when there remains a high level of unprotected sex in the country.

Source: BBC