Report: Saving Lives Now: Female Condoms and the Role of U.S. Foreign Aid
A new report from the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
documents U.S. investment in global female condom procurement,
distribution and programming.
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CHANGE press release
In April 2008, the Center for Health and Gender Equity released an extensive report highlighting a little-known—and perhaps ironic—fact: While the Bush Administration has promoted ideologically driven HIV prevention policies and programs that stigmatize and discourage condom use, the U.S. has more than quadrupled international shipments of female condoms since the inception of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2004.
However, female condoms still represent less than two percent of U.S. international condom procurement. In 2007, women represented half of HIV infections worldwide, and 61 percent of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, the region most heavily impacted by HIV and AIDS. Given the epidemic’s increasing impact on women, HIV prevention experts widely agree that access to a full range of approved prevention methods—especially those women can initiate—is critical in the struggle to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Female Condom Fact Sheet
The report found that female condoms are available in 108 countries, but they are not readily accessible in most countries. The U.S. has supplied female condoms to 30 countries over the past decade and to 16 countries in 2007. Nearly 26 million female condoms were distributed worldwide in 2007, compared to 11 billion male condoms. Despite their proven effectiveness and acceptability, female condoms account for just 0.2 percent of total global condom supply.
Numerous studies have indicated that female condom effectiveness is comparable to male condoms in preventing HIV and unintended pregnancy. Though U.S. funds support social marketing programs for female condoms in several countries, these efforts are often underfunded and short lived. An expert interviewed for the report stated that, “Female condoms have had only half-baked programming—so when the program fails, the blame is often put on the product rather than the programming or lack of it.”
Download Saving Lives Now
Download Executive Summary
Purchase bound report
CHANGE press release
