After reports of shortage of condoms at G.B. Road here, the Delhi government has decided to procure 4 lakh contraceptives to distribute among sex workers. On Wednesday, the government directed the Central Procurement Agency to procure the condoms, which will be made available at its dispensary at Ajmeri Gate.
The decision comes after Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal met Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Wednesday, in which they also discussed rehabilitation of victims of acid attacks.
“Condoms will be procured either from the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D), or by limited tender if the same is not available at DGS&D rates, for distribution among commercial sex workers of G.B. Road,” said an official.
Concerned over the short supply of condoms, the DCW chief had sought a detailed report from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and asked it to resume supply on an urgent basis.Ms. Maliwal said around 5,000 women here stood at risk of contracting HIV, while some may have already contracted the infection.
The DCW chairperson said the commission had sought a report on the current status of supply of condoms to G. B. Road from the Delhi State Aids Control Society, in which the latter stated that they were supposed to have received 12 lakh free condoms per month from NACO.
