Kerala based company gets bulk export order for 1.3 million female condoms

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala based company HLL Lifecare has bagged its maiden bulk orders for supply of over 1.3 million pieces of female condoms to Gambia and Burkina Faso in Africa and Dominican Republic in Caribbean Islands.

It is to support a global initiative to tackle the incidences of HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in the three countries, a company release said here.

A Government of India enterprise, HLL received the export orders for female condoms, a signature product of the company, for the Global Fund projects of Amsterdam headquartered IDA Foundation, the world's leading not-for-profit supplier of essential, quality-assured medicines and medical supplies to developing countries.

The natural latex based female condom of HLL has been indigenously developed and is produced in a world class manufacturing facility with a capacity of 25 million pieces per year, it said.

"These are the first overseas orders we received after obtaining the WHO pre-qualification for the female condoms in March this year. In the coming months, we expect to receive more orders from around the world," R P Khandelwal, Chairman and Managing Director of HLL, said.

"HLL is one of the pre-qualified suppliers of IDA for the female condoms and it received these orders upon winning the tenders floated by IDA for their Global Fund supplies," he said.

IDA Foundation acts as a procurement service agent for Global Fund grant recipients that elect products through the Pooled Procurement Mechanism, it said.

HLL's female condom also has product certifications of the European Union (EU) and South Africa.

The product has a shelf life of five years, the release added.