Universal Access to the Female Condom

• Newsletter: March 2009

The female condom is a woman-initiated family planning method that also prevents women from HIV and other STIs and has no side-effects. Both women and men who have used it a number of times, are very satisfied with this method. Despite the fact that the female condom has been in production for 15 years already, it is not widely available for an affordable price yet.

The female condom can play a major role in: 

• fighting the increase of infections of HIV/AIDS amongst women and girls;
• reducing the high number of unwanted pregnancies
• avoiding the high costs and limited availability of AIDS treatment  work on preventing unwanted pregnancy.

To gain universal access to the female condom an impressive programme has been set up in not even two years time.

Four partners joined hands  - Oxfam Novib, World Population Foundation (WPF), IDA Solutions and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS) - , two country programmes have started, a large number of advocacy activities have been undertaken, and R&D activities have taken place to reduce the price and promote choice.

Website
Currently a new website is being developed. In the beginning of april you can find out all about the programme at condoms4all.org

December 2008: Launch of the International Platform
4 December Dakar (Senegal) at the ICASA conference, the International Platform on Female Condoms was launched.

• View the press release.
• Lobby paper: Failing Women Withholding Protection

The goals of the UAFC Joint Programme are to:

• reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies
• reduce the incidence of new cases of STIs and HIV infection

Joint Programme of the Female Condom Consortium at the AIDS conference in Mexico (3-8 august 2008)
Female Condom card