Global condom shortage looms as production remains shut downMarch 28, 2020 - 17:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A global shortage of condoms is looming after the coronavirus lockdown forced the world’s biggest producer to shut down production, The Guardian reports. Malaysia’s Karex Bhd makes one in every five condoms globally. It has not produced a single condom in its three Malaysian factories for more than a week because of a lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of the virus. That is already a shortfall of 100m condoms, normally marketed internationally by brands such as Durex, supplied to state healthcare systems such as Britain’s NHS or distributed by aid programmes such as the UN Population Fund. The company was given permission to restart production on Friday, but with only 50% of its workforce, under a special exemption for critical industries. “It will take time to jumpstart factories and we will struggle to keep up with demand at half capacity,” said the chief executive, Goh Miah Kiat. “We are going to see a global shortage of condoms everywhere, which is going to be scary,” he said. “My concern is that for a lot of humanitarian programmes … in Africa, the shortage will not just be two weeks or a month. That shortage can run into months.” Malaysia is south-east Asia’s worst-affected country, with 2,161 coronavirus infections and 26 deaths. The lockdown is due to remain in place at least until 14 April. Top stories Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. Partner news | Viva sees growing demand for cloud services In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud services Armenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin. Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats. Balance of attached cards in the Idram&IDBank app From now on, users will be able to view the online balances of cards issued by ArCa system banks and attached to the app. |