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South Africans avoid talking about STIs, erectile dysfunction, contraception and more. Contro, a new online sexual health and product prescription and delivery service wants to change that Gerry Cupido
CONTRO is a new online sexual health and product prescription and delivery service Contro is aiming to take the inconvenience and awkwardness out of the in-person sexual health conversations. This online service offers virtual private and confidential consultations with doctors who prescribe and discreetly deliver the right treatment at no extra cost. Contro founder and chief executive Alex Schmid believes being able to address sexual health questions and concerns virtually, allows more people to take control of their sexual health and sex life without fear of judgement. We spoke to Schmid. Are South Africans ready for such a service? At Contro, sexual health is not only about STIs but also UTIs, thrush, and what we like to call choice treatments such as contraceptives, hair loss and
erectile dysfunction treatment. South Africa has always been a conservative society. However, we have multiple pandemics in the area of sexual health in South Africa going unchecked and untreated due to the fear of talking about the topic. Regardless of whether South Africans feel ready or not we need to talk about sex, sexual health, and STIs because our biases, judgements and beliefs are causing significant harm to our society from both a health and socioeconomic perspective. This can be shown with current statistics surrounding some of the service and treatment areas Contro assists with: When it comes to STIs, there are over 10 million active STIs per year in individuals between the ages of 15 to 49 in South Africa, excluding HIV infections. When combined with the 7.9 million HIV-positive individuals in South
Africa, the total number of STIs sits at 17.9 million active infections per year. With a population of just over 59 million individuals, it means nearly one in three individuals will have an active STI every year. That is a pandemic. (Source: NICD) When it comes to birth control, between 2015 and 2019 there were 1.96 million pregnancies a year on average in South Africa, of which an average of 1.27 million each year were unintended. Over a third of these ended in abortion. This is a pandemic that can be addressed at the source with effective use of birth control. (Source: Guttmacher Institute) Regarding erectile dysfunction, 40% of men under the age of 40 suffer from erectile dysfunction (Source: Cleveland Clinic), and 50% of all diabetic men will experience erectile dysfunction at some point in their lifetime (Source: NICB).
