In condom market, a growing private sector
When Phnom Penh was flooded with free condoms during the Water Festival last week—a public health push to ensure revelers who came for days of debauchery did so safely—the city’s condom vendors weren’t happy about it. … The global health organization Population Services International (PSI), whose local operations are now called Population Services Khmer (PSK), controls the majority of the condom market with its heavily subsidized condom brands Number One and OK. Though the organization still offers condoms for free, it has sought to encourage people to get in the habit of buying condoms, starting at rock-bottom prices, as donor money that has long funded free prophylactics starts to dry up. … The market has been driven by higher incomes and changing attitudes toward condoms, largely due to educational campaigns by NGOs and the government, said Full Well sales manager Oueng Veasna. … Mr. Veasna said the company sells about 1.3 million condoms a year, up from less than a million two years ago. Though a sizeable amount, he said, the firm’s sales pale in comparison to what he estimated was PSK’s distribution of 20 million condoms—both free and subsidized—per year. …
George Styllis and Kang Sothear
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/in-condom-market-a-growing-private-sector-72352/
