Condoms in Giveaway Are Effective, Officials Say

The District Health Department sought to assure residents yesterday about the safety and quality of hundreds of thousands of condoms distributed as part of the city's effort to fight HIV/AIDS.

In response to a story Wednesday in The Washington Post about the free condoms, including reports that the wrappers are easily damaged, the department issued a statement stressing that the condoms had met federal and industry standards for packaging and manufacturing.

The statement also noted that officials were evaluating the effectiveness of the program, "including feedback on the quality of the condoms and receptivity by clients," and that the results would help determine which condoms were bought in the future.

"We're committed to learning what works best for the District," Health Director Gregg A. Pane said.

Several groups involved in the free distribution said this week that clients had rejected the condoms for a variety of reasons, including worries about torn packets minimizing the condoms' effectiveness and complaints about their feel and fit. A coalition of organizations supplying condoms via two well-publicized locations in Southeast returned at least 100,000 packets to the city this summer -- about 15 percent of the total the department says it has handed out since February.

"We may just have to wait for a new crop of condoms," said Patricia Hawkins, associate executive director at the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a member of the Life Guard coalition. If the city's next choice is guided by research on its efficacy and marketing appeal here, Hawkins said, she anticipates much more success.

"The issue is, we want people to use them," Hawkins said.