Influx of counterfeit sanitary pads detrimental to women's health

SIMBARASHE MSASANURI
Dar es Salaam

ACCESS to sanitary pads is a nightmare for many women, not only in Tanzania but in Africa and other third world countries, who are forced to improvise by using rags or other materials that sometimes end up being harmful to their bodies.

Though most governments of these countries have come up with programmes to make sure that their women easily access these important components, it remains an uphill task as many factors such as poverty, cultural beliefs, lack of knowledge and so on have hindered some of these women, especially in remote parts of these countries to access the pads.

It is believed that adolescent girls in developing countries miss up to 50 days of school each year because their families can't afford to buy them sanitary pads. According to the UNICEF, more than one in ten school girls in Sub-Saharan Africa skip school for more than a day when menstruating due to lack of awareness of affordable pads in the market.

Fortunately, a start-up called Sustainable Health Enterprises (or the cleverly abbreviated SHE) is working to reverse this trend by helping Rwandan women start their own low-cost sanitary pad businesses. SHE is helping girls stay in school and increasing their potential earning power in the process. One additional year of primary school for a girl means a 10-20 per cent increase in her future wages, according to a Council on Foreign Relations study.

In Kenya, the government introduced zero-rated import duty for sanitary towels in 2004 to increase the use of the products, bringing down prices of most brands by almost 50 per cent.

But, many women are said to be still using clothing, tissue and cotton wool to contain menstrual flow, exposing them to health hazards; yet tax exemption pushed prices down leading to entry of more brands targeting specific market segments.

In Tanzania, despite all the efforts to make the pads affordable and available, a considerable number of women still don’t afford sanitary pads. Those who have access to the pads are exposed to the danger of buying counterfeit products. With the global economic crunch taking its toll in the country, many women have no choice but to go for cheaper products. But, as the old saying that cheap products are expensive, their lives are exposed to diseases as they end up buying counterfeit products.

The wave of fake goods currently sweeping across this country has seen many counterfeit sanitary pads invading the market, exposing defenseless women to risks of health complications after using them.

Police in Arusha last week, unearthed a multi-million shilling scam of counterfeit sanitary pads manufactured in China. The consignment was destined for Arusha and Manyara regions.

The security forces impounded 10,000 cartons of fake sanitary pads worth 210m/- that were stored in an ultra-modern house in Baraa Ward, Arusha Municipality.

Medical experts say that fake pads have serious side effects on women who use them.

Dr Baraka Mkongo was quoted as saying: “Counterfeit sanitary pads can cause fungus, urinary tract infection (UTI), Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) and Sexually Transmitted infections (STIs).”

The confiscation of the consignment shook many business people in Arusha who went on to remove all fake pads from their shelves.

Most supermarkets and retail shops in Arusha were reportedly removing sanitary pads from their shelves, fearing ongoing police crackdown targeting bogus health products flooding the market.

According to a 2006 World Health Organisation (WHO) report, it is estimated that in developing countries especially in Africa and some parts of Asia and Latin America, up to 30 per cent of medicines on the market are counterfeit.

However, the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) lambasted the Tanzania's thriving counterfeit market.

The group estimates that between 15 and 20 per cent of all merchandise circulating in the country are counterfeit, earning the country a reputation of being a dumping ground for imitation goods including fake drugs.

As if the confiscation of sanitary pads in Arusha was not enough to cause damage, police in Dar es Salaam also impounded four trucks loaded with fake sanitary pads worth 60m/-.

The sanitary towels are said to have been imported illegally and were confiscated when police impounded the four trucks with 2,750 boxes of the illegally imported product.

The Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander, Suleiman Kova, said the trucks loaded with the merchandise were impounded on Monday last week after a tip off by a good Samaritan.

“We were notified that there were vehicles loaded with illegal sanitary pads. Our informers told us where the trucks were parked and we moved in,” said Kova, adding that the vehicles were found in Jangwani suburb and that the owner, a businessman who resides along Livingstone Street in Kariakoo had been nabbed.

It is upon interrogation that, according to Kova, that the businessman confirmed having purchased the consignment from Arusha.

The police also made a follow up on another businessman and discovered more boxes of sanitary pads stored in a godown, within the city.

Kova, however, took the opportunity to warn women to be careful when purchasing sanitary pads as it is believed that a lot of fake pads might have already been distributed to various shops within the country.

It is unfortunate that the problem of counterfeits has reached a point of no return and is fast putting the lives of consumers at risk. In fact, the market in this country is fast becoming a minefield where one needs to be more careful, failure to which one endangers his or her life after buying a counterfeit good that ends up turning lethal.

The discovery of fake sanitary pads is a wake up call to all women that they should open their eyes when buying these products and make sure that they don't buy fakes. Gone are the days of buying goods and commodities blindly.

It is also the duty of the powers that be to sensitise wananchi on the need to be on high alert when it comes to counterfeits. It is imperative that the government educate wananchi on how to distinguish genuine from counterfeit products to save lives.

The government, therefore, needs to protect women from these unscrupulous businesspeople who value making profits more than the health of those who use their products. It is time that measures are taken to avoid smuggling of these commodities to save a lot of money that will be wasted in buying medicines to treat those who would have been affected by counterfeit goods.

Ends.