The unbelievable cost of safe sex in Venezuela

A box of 36 Trojan condoms is going to cost you a month’s wages if you are the average person living in Venezuela. Due to a complex mixture of economic changes and a shortage of goods across the nation, the price of common items has skyrocketed, and now safe sex can cost around $755 a box.

This is concerning, not only because there is a shortage of important day-to-day items, but because the sexual health of Venezuelan residents could be at risk. The nation already has the second highest rate of teen pregnancy on the continent, to the point where sexual health experts consider the issue an epidemic.

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“Without condoms we can’t do anything,” Jhonatan Rodriguez, general director at the not-for-profit health group StopVIH, told Bloomberg Business. “This shortage threatens all the prevention programs we have been working on across the country.”

Many sexual health outreach programs, like those provided by The Associacon Civil de Planificacion Familia (PLAFAM), use condoms as a way to promote safe sex practices among those who can’t afford contraception or don’t know where to obtain it. Now, those programs may have to stop giving away condoms–if they can even gain access to any in the first place.

Condom prices further complicate other aspects of sexual health. Due to the goods shortage in Venezuela, antiviral medications are also severely depleted, and without condoms available to fall back on, the country is on the verge of seeing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) run rampant. In addition to STIs, the high price of condoms doesn’t bode well for Venezuela’s unintended pregnancy rates. Just this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) released data showing modern contraception?like condoms?could help prevent more than 16 million unintended pregnancies a year, particularly in low-income, developing nations in Latin America.

Simple methods of contraception could make a big impact in Venezuela

Only individuals with access to U.S. dollars can buy condoms inexpensively. (Shutterstock)

“Analysis of 35 low- and middle-income countries revealed that four out of five undesired pregnancies could have been prevented if [modern methods of contraception] were used,” authors from the WHO research wrote. “The use of traditional methods and not using any method of contraception increased the odds of an undesired pregnancy by 3 and 14 times, respectively.”

Without condoms, more people may turn to the “pull out” method or pregnancy prevention based on fertility awareness, two methods with high failure rates.

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Now, consumers in Venezuela are forced to choose between no condoms or off-brands, which store owners say are being left on shelves, untouched. “People ask me whether I have used them myself and can recommend them,” pharmacy manager Katherine Munoz said, explaining that people don’t trust brands they aren’t familiar with. “I can’t say that I have.”

There is some hope for a lucky few in the country, however. Those who have access to U.S. dollars are able to buy condoms on the black market for around $25 a pack; the issue is only a very small percentage of Venezuelans can say they have easy access to such funds.