It's all about SIZE: Chinese condom 'Too Small' for men in Zimbabwe, says health minister

Chinese products are widely sold in markets around the world and have grown its sales rapidly but it seems like Chinese product-- condoms are not going well with Zimbabwe men. The flavors are not the issues but the size that matters to them.

The problem is so sensitive that the health minister of Zimbabwe had to make a formal complaint about the small size of the condoms. The 'one size' fit concept is not working in every case.

According to reports, recently during an HIV/AIDS prevention event in Harare, David Parirenyatwa, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health, said that a popular condom among youth is imported from China. However, men often complain about it being “too small”.

The Parirenyatwa had urged all local companies to consider manufacturing of condoms, “Youths now have a particular condom that they like, but we don’t manufacture them. We import condoms from China and some men complain they are too small,” he told to media present at the Zimbabwe Private Sector HIV and Aids Wellness Coordinating Programme (ZPSHAWP) in Harare.

Zimbabwe has 6th highest HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa at 13.5 per cent and almost 1.3 million people living with the virus in 2016. However, condoms are most important precaution tools to fight against the spread of the virus in the country.

“You know this region, the Southern African region, has the highest incidence of HIV and we are promoting the use of condoms; both males and females,” the minister added.

According to a paper ‘Personality and Individual Differences’ in 2012, it was said men in most South Asian countries and European nations had a smaller penis than those in African countries, with men from the Republic of Congo averaging a size of 7.1 inches.

As the unsatisfactory news made rounds about the Chinese condom manufacturers moved to produce new products with the improved sizes. “As to the different demands from customers such as in Zimbabwe, Daxiang, as a Chinese manufacturer, has the ability and the obligation to make a contribution, so we have started to do some surveys on users’ data in the region to make preparations for future products with different sizes,” Zhao Chuan, the chief executive of Beijing Daxiang and His Friends Technology Co., told the South China Morning Post.

Earlier before Zimbabwe another African country, Ghana also complained about the issues with Chinese condoms in 2013. The country had to face serious health issues after more than 1 million condoms imported from China were faulty as they had holes and burst easily.

Also read: Lady romanced with 'eighty' married men and the reason is to have great sex-life