For us, it is quite easy to get our hands on a condom: we go to a store and we buy one for, say, €1. Unfortunately, this can be quite different in other countries. In Caracas, Venezuela, for example.

Venezuela is an oil producer and because there was a fall in oil prices on the international markets, the Venezualan economy collapsed. Venezuela can't pay for imported prodcuts anymore and basic items have become very expensive. Supermarkets and pharmacies don't have anything to sell and on top of that, people have to wait in long lines to enter these stores, just to get their hands on something. Some even sell their place in that line for some money!

One of the results of this evolution is that items such as condoms have become scarce and way too expensive. They are now being sold on the black market and a pack of 24 Durex condoms costs $317 (279€). Even worse is the auction website Mercadolibre, where Venezuelans can buy scarce products: this website offers a 36-pack of Trojans for $755 (664€), which is almost €19 per condom.

Public health workers in Venezuela fear the worst, as the country has very high rates of HIV and teen pregnancy already. What a strange world we live in.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-04/the-755-condom-is-the-latest-indignity-in-venezuela
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/02/09/condom-prices-venezuela_n_6648144.html