Don’t be surprised if a postman knocks at your door (in India) with health kits comprising condoms and contraceptives.
To overcome initial shyness and hesitation by both seller and purchaser to ask for condoms or contraceptives, the products have been slipped into two attractive health kits which also have iron tablets, band-aid, ORS, sanitary napkins etc., said Anil Kumar, Director, Postal Services, Jharkhand, India.
“Postmen can take these kits voluntarily to the houses during their duty hours or the customers can get the items from thirteen post offices situated in separate districts,” Kumar added.
Priced at Rs 270 and Rs 275 respectively, Kumar said the novel scheme was tied up with the Hindustan Lattex Family Planning and Promotion Trust on July 29 last year.
“During the first month after the tie-up, we could sell kits worth only Rs 13,000. In April this year the sale had increased to Rs 32,000 with both men and women coming forward to purchase the products,” Kumar said.
Sharing his experience at Basukinath and Masanjore in the backward Santhal Pargana region where women customers braved shyness to buy the products, Kumar said awareness camps would be organised to popularise the kits.
“We will review the year-old response in August. Thereafter, we may fix targets on sale,” said the officer of the postal department, which has already taken up the responsibility in distributing malaria tablets to the needy free of cost.
In times of fierce competition from private couriers, these novel programmes by the postal department is commendable, said a purchaser.